Is There Joy in Adversity?

My family has been experiencing a very difficult spring and summer.  Our struggles have not been devastating or heart breaking in comparison to some of the struggles other families have experienced but they have been constant.  When I wakeup in the mornings I prepare my mind (as best as I can) to face the new challenges that will be tossed our way for each day usually brings a new challenge.  I have found myself saying things such as “when it rains it pours” and “my life is like herding cats.”  Some of the challenges we have faced are: a knee dislocation (oldest daughter) that has brought surgery and endless Dr.’s appointments; our adult son moving back home through less than ideal circumstances; multiple car repairs; three trips out of state; and many other events that are wearing us down.  As I was speaking to my Sunday school class about our rollercoaster ride of life I found myself laughing as I spoke about the events that are taking place.  Someone commented “at least you can laugh about it”, my response was “If I don’t laugh I will cry”.  I have truly been overwhelmed for the last two months.  Yet I know I still have so much to be thankful for because it was only a knee injury and not major head trauma; my oldest son wanted to be back with his family, the cars are still running and we were able to pay for the repairs and we all wake up each day and have each other.  God has not forsaken us through our struggles!

Through theses struggles my husband and I have noticed that all seven of us have reached a burn out point and our attitudes were going from bad to worse.  The snowball effect had taken over our emotions and we were turning against each other instead of to each other.  We had to stop this snowball before we fell apart!  When my husband and I realized what was happening it did not take us long to get in front of the problem.  Restoring the peace in our home did not happen over night and we are still working on restoring a positive atmosphere in our home, but we are making progress.

We realized that we needed to deal with the emotions that each child was going through during this hard time.  We have had many one on one conversations (sometimes shouting matches thanks to overly taxed emotions) where we tried hard to reach their hearts and hear their voice.  We have also had to hold them in account for their poor attitudes and actions with the other family members.  And most importantly we have held ourselves in account to them for our short tempers, bad attitudes and the lack of attention they have received from us.  We all had to examine our short comings and get our heads and hearts straight.  This has been a humbling experience for us but it has also allowed us to grow as parents.  Hopefully this season of hardships has shown our children how to face adversity and how let it grow them into better people.  I have not been able to find much joy in the struggles we have gone through, but watching my family grow together through adversity has given me priceless joy.