God does not
protect us from pain
grief or heartache
that was never the promise
of a spiritual life
if we are on a spiritual path
we will feel all of these things
and more
the promise is that
if they bring us closer to God
make us stronger in faith
and more useful in service to others
our troubles have meaning
in this way
we come to discover
that our difficulties
are actually for us
not against us
SUFFERING WITH MEANING
By Robert Van Valkenburgh
Meditations of a Gentle Warrior
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Meditations on God 