When your faith is tested

Last week we got to celebrate our sweet Ruth’s 12^th birthday (her 3^rd birthday here in America).  As she blew out those candles I couldn’t  help but think about the countless nights and long days we spent wishing, waiting, praying for her to finally come home.  Just a few years ago we were still separated by 9,000 miles and even more miles of red tape keeping us from being a family united.  The years of our crazy adoption process were one of the most brutal seasons of my life… and also some of the most rich moments of tasting God’s strength. 

James 1:3 says " For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”  

For most of us, it goes against every fiber of our being to chose or stay in a hard path, but those hard roads lead to deeper understanding of who God is, and who He is inside of us!  Slowly but surely I’m learning to realize that God’s desire for us to grow almost always comes with paths we wouldn’t naturally chose, but those journeys give us a chance to develop an intimacy and endurance that makes us better fit for serving Him and leaning on His strength.  Life didn’t magically become easy a few year ago (adoption doesn’t magically become easy at the end of an airport escalator), but the endurance we have learned from past seasons have allowed us to tackle new difficult journeys with grater endurance and a deeper trust in the One who promises to be what we need when our faith is tested.  Hang in there, you’re getting stronger even if you don’t see it yet!

Mark