For Most People

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly

 loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, 

kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." 

Colossians 3:12

"Our love ought also to be patient. Our neighbor may 

have his faults—but we are taught to

 bear with one another's infirmities.

If we knew the story of men's
lives, the hidden loads and burdens which they are
often carrying, 

 the unhealed sore in their heart—we
would have most gentle patience with them. 

Life is hard for most people,

 certainly hard enough without
our adding to its burdens by our censoriousness, our
unkindness, our jeering and contempt.

~J.R. Miller

May you praise God today for all those He's given you to bear your burdens, those who weep with you and rejoice with you, those with whom you share your deepest struggles, those who faithfully show you the love of Christ, whether you're on the mountain or in the valley, those who carry you with their prayers and good words and kind deeds.

And may God grant us all that extra dose of patience, by His grace, to love and bear with those in our lives who challenge us, frustrate us, and sometimes even discourage us. When we're tempted to discard them, to be rid of them because they are thorns in our sides, because they are difficult and demanding, may we soften their hard lines and ease their heavy burdens with the sweet aroma of Christ in us. 

With love,

Trisha