Our Trials, our Privileges

Something I have been thinking about lately....
They say that "bad things happen in 3's" Here is my recent example of that.... While I was still in Taiwan I cracked a tooth (I have avoided popcorn balls ever since!), when I came back to UT I needed a crown (another expense) and yesterday morning I woke up with a puffy right cheek. I made an emergency with the dentist and I now need a root canal!!!! Aren't you jealous???

It turns out that a nerve in a tooth died and so it found another path, into my cheek. Hence the puffy cheek. And while I am so grateful that it was not any worse, or any more expensive, it does cut into my money I am (trying to) save for tuition. However, I am not writing this to generate sympathy. I am OK with a root canal (the thought of another tooth problem makes me chuckle actually) and I want to share what I have learned. Plus, I lived a good 20+ years with no sprains, breaks or stitches so I really can't complain......

The first time I remember thinking of a trial as a privilege was when my Grandma Litster died while I was still in Taiwan, and I wasn't able to make it home. I knew that it would not be easy, but I knew that God had entrusted me with that trial, had allowed it to happen because he knew that I could make it through and be better for it. I am not necessarily an avid believer in the idea that "everything happens for a reason" but I do know that there is more to life than "just enduring a trial." It is part of a process in us allowing God to help us become who we ultimately want to be.

Such it is now with the medical expenses have come up. It was not what I would have chosen for myself, but as a handcart pioneer said, " The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay"

A lesson worth learning, wouldn't you say?