Purpose in Suffering

Jeris E. Bragan wrote about an old violin maker who chose the wood for his instruments from the north side of the trees because this was the side that faced the fiercest windstorms. When the storms raged the trees groaned under the lashings but this is what gave them their strength. As the violin maker said, "They are simply learning to be violins."

Dear God …

    Like the trees of the forest,
    may I find nourishment
    in rain as well as sunshine,
    bend with the winds of misfortune
    without breaking;
    give of myself to others
    to provide shade from the blistering heat,
    grow old gracefully and not
    become rigid or unbending;
    and above all
    may I keep reaching ever upwards
    towards heaven and to God.

                                   – Dick Innes

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz ...