Once upon a time there was a man. He loved Jesus and spreading His truth. He believed that grace is what leads us to true freedom and Godly living. He visited many churches. In his attempt to spread love, he was persecuted by many. Eventually this persecution led to his imprisonment. However, this man did not let this situation define his faith. He chose to remain thankful. He chose joy.

You can probably guess this man is Paul.
Love can hurt.
But it will always prevail.

This morning I read about how Job and Paul went through a lot of the same struggles. Job speaking of his troubles said "this will become my deliverance." What a testament of faith. Paul shared those same words in Philippians. This was purposeful, not just a happenstance.

This taught me that suffering can be a result of sin as well as dedication to Christ's love.

No matter how we live- we will suffer.

Here is a real life example.

As I was writing this post, my son was sitting on my lap. Suddenly he throws up. On me, on the couch, on him.

Now... I could have screamed. I could have been upset. Instead I calmly got up, grabbed some Resolve and cleaned up the mess in about a minute.

I'm not sure I was thankful that he threw up, but I can be thankful that I responded calmly and had some Resolve on hand to clean up the mess.

Maybe a silly example, but even still, little moments matter.

Remember the teachings of Colossians today and walk in Grace!

Andrea