Yesterday was not pleasant for me. The stomach flu is never
fun, especially when it was on my birthday but it was even worse for Hailee. Hailee
set up our kids to be at our good friend Jen’s house and have an amazing
birthday celebration for me. About 10:30 things changed when I went to the
bathroom for the first of many times throwing up. Within five minutes after
that Hailee got a call from Jen, Ty threw up.
After picking them up from Jen’s and getting them back home,
Connor started throwing up at about midnight and then Nevaeh followed at 3. I
was out of commission, so Hailee took care of all the kids. Then at 6:30 she
got sick herself. Sunday we were dead. I had a birthday lunch that consisted of
a cracker and a half a cup of water. It was not an easy day. For as bad as I
had it, Hailee had it worse taking care of all of us. Life doesn’t always go as
planned. At times life is hard, for as bad as it was Hailee reminded me it
could have been worse. Nobody had to go to the hospital, nobody was seriously
injured, it was just a bug. Even though bad things happen, it was nothing life
changing. We talked about celebrating by birthday on another day and life goes
on. Sometimes life is not as bad as it seems.
What we often go through is nothing compared to what others
go through. I am reading through some of the hardships Paul went through. This
guy was beaten and thrown in prison. He faced angry crowds ticked at him,
worked till he was dead tired, faced many sleepless nights and was starving.
Paul faced some messed up things that I never had to face in life. He was
beaten within an inch of death for his faith, I never faced that in my life.
Looking back at my birthday yesterday, it was nothing compared to what Paul
faced.
How was Paul able to face all of this and still move
forward? 2 Corinthians 6:6-7…”in purity, understanding, patience and kindness;
in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of
God with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left.”
Through all the trials Paul faced, we see that he saw a big
picture for what he endured. Paul trusted in God and the Holy Spirit through
all he went through. He was a honest and loving guy but was called everything
but. Through it all he trusted in God. In a little of verse 10 there is an
interesting line, “poor, yet making many rich; having nothing and yet
possessing everything.”
Often in life we think we are doing good based on the
possessions we own. The nicer the house, car, electronic devices, and other
worldly possessions the better we are. It’s a false appearance of having it
all. Paul didn’t have anything yet made other people rich by giving them the
greatest gift possible, eternal life. He led so many people to Christ and to a
life that doesn’t end here on earth. Even though he was broke, he had spiritual
blessings to make up for that. Do you think God cares about the things you own
or do you think he just cares about you?
Through all Paul’s struggles, it puts mine to shame. He went
through and faced a tough life not many will face. I am thankful that I only
had a temporary sickness on my birthday because it could have been so much
worse. Even through the sickness I am glad I have a loving wife to take care of
me and everything I go through. I am glad I have Paul who lived a pure life to
see other come to Jesus and live eternally. Seeing him go through his hardships
reminds me that through the bad I go through I and we can still persevere
through what we go through.
Have a great day.
