How often we would like...
Illustration
How often we would like to refuse to admit or even deny that suffering is the way of life, not only for our Lord, but also for ourselves! In the settling of the American Midwest by European immigrants, there was a clash of cultures that often left people of all ranks and races bloodied and battered and beaten. In a letter home to Norway, Guri Endresen reflects upon her loss of family and goods while retaining faith in a gracious God. "God be thanked, I kept my life and my sanity, though all my movable property was torn away and stolen." She would consider that loss "as nothing" if only her husband and children's lives would be spared. Her conclusion is a statement of cross-bearing faith. "God permitted it to happen thus, and I had to accept my heavy fate and thank him for having spared my life and those of some of my dear children."
