Thankful for Adversity

I kind of don't want to blog about this because I don't feel like I fully agree with it. Sure, I know that our trials make us stronger, and becoming stronger is good, so, theoretically, trials are good things, but even though it seems that the logic is sound, I still don't like it. I'd rather not have to suffer through trials and adversity (wouldn't we all?) but I also want to get stronger, and if facing adversity is the only way...

Well, okay. If facing adversity is the only way to get stronger, then I can kind of see how adversity is a blessing. It's like exercise. It's hard work and sometimes painful, but there's a purpose to it, and there can be positive results. And, unfortunately, the positive results of exercising can't come any other way.

But still, are we really supposed to be thankful for our trials? If so, then I'm going to cheat a little and do it indirectly. Instead of saying "Thank you, God, for putting this problem in my life," I'm going to say "Thank you for giving me this opportunity to grow." It amounts to the same thing in the end, but one of them is a lot easier to say than the other one.

I guess it all has to do with attitude and perspective. Instead of focussing on our present struggle against our adversities and afflictions and how hard and painful they are, we can try to think about the future results, the strength we're developing, and how amazing it will feel when we prove that we're strong enough to overcome our challenges (or at least brave enough to face them head-on). And, if we fail the test sometimes, we can made lemonade out of the situation by turning it into a learning experience. I guess, in that sense, failure is just another form of adversity, intended for a different form of personal growth.

So maybe we can be thankful for adversity, or at least thankful for the blessings that adversity can hold for us. We can be thankful for God's help in facing our adversities, and thankful for our adversities in the sense that they bring us closer to God. We can be grateful for the challenges we face and the strength that we gain by facing them. We can be grateful for the things that we learn, and perhaps even for the trials and struggles by which we learned them. Adversity and yield a number of terrific blessings, and I suppose our prayers of thanks should reflect a knowledge of that. I'm still not really thankful for my trials, but I'm thankful for the blessings that come through them.