So be truly glad...

1 Peter 1:6-7 says -
"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world."

I've been staring at these words for a while now. Some key phrases pop out at me:
EVEN THOUGH - in spite of, regardless - so , be glad not because things will make you happy but because you have hope
HAVE TO - not may have to, but have to - no getting around it, this is pretty much a guarantee that we will suffer
MANY TRIALS - many. Ugghh.

So verse six can be discouraging if you focus on the have to and the many trials, but we're supposed to focus on the first part, the glad part which comes from earlier in the chapter about what Jesus has done for us. So, this is supposed to be encouraging - not sugar-coated, but hopeful. Cool.

And then there's verse seven. What stands out to me in this verse is what it doesn't say. It doesn't say "all trials are tests from God". However, it does say "trials will show your faith is genuine". So this doesn't really answer why we go through trials, just that we have a responsibility to endure for God's sake. For God's sake! It's interesting that the why is not answered (the question we always ask).

Now the part I don't get - apparently enduring and remaining faithful through many trials will bring personal glory. Isn't that what it says? "It will bring you much praise and honor and glory" - I find that odd. I mean really, it isn't supposed to be about our glory but Christ's glory, right? I'm almost embarrassed at the idea of gaining personal glory from being faithful to Him. He has changed my life; I owe Him everything; He should get the glory. But what it says is I will get the glory. Hmmm.

Just to be

I'm selfish. And I can justify it because everyone else is just as selfish or more so. So there.

Really, I don't know how people deal with their lives. All I have to do is go to work and then come home and take care of the home and the husband. And even with just that, I long for a whole day of having nothing to do. And I mean nothing. I don't want to clean anything or put anything away or cook anything or drive anywhere or talk to anyone or feed anyone or pay anyone or answer the phone or email or plan anything or decide anything. I just want to be - for one day.

But I don't see that ever happening. It would probably be boring. (But I still think I want to find out.) Maybe I'm just lazy. I know I'm tired.

Then I think about my brother. He's a single dad with one full-time handful of a teen aged son and one part-time responsibility of a 5-year-old princess. He never gets a break. Seriously, it's one thing after another. If anyone's tired and needs a real day off, it's him.

So, I think if I ever come across a day when I can just be, I'll give it to him. He really deserves it.