An apt word

I think one thing I've learned through this whole ordeal is how to deal with bad situations. Not something like patience or perseverance, which I think I have developed quite substantially over my lifetime, but how to both be in a bad situation and trust God in it. What I mean is, before, because of my unusually optimistic outlook, when a bad situation arose, my mind would tell me, 'Don't worry. Everything will be ok. Time to be happy.' Now, I think, 'Don't worry. Everything will be ok. But it still really really bites.'

There are a lot of sunny-faced Christians out there that love to be happy and don't know how to be sad. I'm pretty sure I used to be one of them. I'll tell you what, the term 'the joy of the Lord' means a whole lot different to someone who's stuck in the hospital and can't eat.

One of my verses that I have recently adopted as one of my go-tos is from 2 Corinthians, verse 9, where Paul asked God to take away the thorn in his flesh: "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" Note that God doesn't take away the thorn. He denies Paul's request. Does the thorn, then, all of a sudden, become so easy to deal with? Paul says that from then on, he delights in weaknesses. But the thorn never changes. The thorn still sucks. It's still a bad situation. God's grace is sufficient for me. He is here with me and has been working wonders throughout this ordeal, thanks to a multitude of prayers that have been pouring in. So many good things have happened-- I have a lot to be thankful for. And that helps. But you know what? It still sucks right now.

Dan