honest personal struggles

personal struggles are a part of life, and I’m honest enough to admit them.. those that don’t have any are only pretending. this is not to say that “all of life is suffering”, but that we can be honest with the tough times and the good times, and that the the goal of life is not to pretend we have no desires nor to avoid suffering. The Word in Romans 5 came to mind, that suffering produces perseverance. And character. And hope. My own tendency, and perhaps yours, is to find relief when faced with tough times, rather than allow the opportunity to be a place for learning perseverance and producing character. In the tough time, I want to relieve myself, find something that brings short-term temporary pleasure, which in effect only creates guilt and more dissatisfaction. Resist temptation, God help us all.