Life is a challenge.  In all respects, we need to be suited up in armor.  And although it appears that some have a story-book life, it is not always true. I like to think that from a distant perspective that covers all time, at one time, I could look down and see my life. I want to see that I had faith in the storms and I was kind and charitable, and did not give up. Or complain, while not giving up (that’s hard for me sometimes.)

 

It’s been reported that people who have near-death experiences see their entire life — all that they did and how it affected other people. I am currently reading Visions of Glory: One Man’s Astonishing Account of the Last Days and finding another man’s view of life from beyond this mortal existence. It helps me remember that there is more than what we see from our perspective. I don’t want to die to find this out and I’m thankful to read other people’s experiences and learn from them. In fact, I am more comfortable with dreams as a means of seeing through the veil.
But trials continue, even when you know or understand things of a spiritual nature. God does not remove those trials, but He can give you greater understanding so you can handle them. Sometimes, just barely.  The rewards will be great, and worth it all, I am told, and I do believe.

My daughter-in-law just gave birth to my grandson. My son coached her, and he said “she was a champ.” And she was. No pain meds. At each progression of her labor, she decided she could go further without the epidural. I love birth experiences and I love to see the faces of new parents. This must be how you feel after you fulfill your mission on earth. It’s sometimes hard to keep that in mind when you are in labor — that there is a glorious change just ahead.

I read this little ditty in a book, Phantastes by George MacDonald: (a favorite author of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien)

“Fight on , my men, Sir Andrew sayes,
Alittle Ime hurt, but yet not slain, 
Ille but lye downe and bleede awhile,
And then Ile rise and fight againe.”
There are women and men I know who have bled awhile only to get up and continue the fight. Amazing, but possible, and in the larger picture, totally worth it.

And a little Monty Python humor is always good in life’s battles.