Steadfast in the Storm

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." - James 1:2-3

When I think about this verse, it reminds me of the many "little trials" that I personally have gone through, and how I thought that I would never gain anything from such a bad experience whether it be physically, emotionally, or even spiritually. Compared to most people, the trials I have faced have been fairly minuscule, but i believe that any trial we face, God has placed in our lives to do only good. Just as James put it, "produces steadfastness".

This past Friday, September 11th, my Grandfather passed away. I had been down to visit him about a week before his death, and even then his death was fairly eminent. While I was helping go through his massive amounts of paperwork and files, I came across a small piece of paper on which was scribbled this:

"Youth and Age are not dates in time, but states of Mind.
Our duty is not to add years to our lives, but add life to our years.
Time may wrinkle the skin, but worry, doubt, hate, and loss of ideals wrinkle the soul.
Fears, not Years, bow the head. . . whether we are seventy or seventeen, a sense of the wonder of life keeps us young.
It's not where you've been, but where you're going that counts."

This small collection of quotes/saying that I assumed he had either come up with himself or ones he had heard, proved very touching having looked back on the life that he had lived, and the kind of man he was. He lived with dignity, and I pray that those who were influenced by him will remember him for who he was, and where he is now.

From what I have been told, and from what he told me himself, my Grandfather had been on many a stormy bank in his life. My only hope is that we will learn to look at trials as opportunities, and not get so caught up in everything, as it is so easy to be won-over in self pity. We can't die with dignity, as many people think, we live with it; a dignity that is dignified in the blood Christ shed for us, the same blood that redeemed us from our ever present sin, and the blood that keeps on cleansing, encouraging us to chase after the truth.

(next time - check back for an official update on my new music project)