Consider it joy...

James 1:2-4
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing or your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything."

( Perseverance meaning-Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness )

We should consider trails pure joy, with the knowledge that God does not allow things in our lives that we can't handle. No matter how it extreme it may seem at the time. These things come so we can learn and grow from them, it may be a new lesson, or something we already to knew and did not adhere to, in the case of the second part He allows these things over and over, often increasing in severity until we finally get it. And, as in any case He is trying to teach us something, but sometimes He is trying to teach someone else something through you, because; you are strong enough to handle it, and that person may not be, or they could not learn by their own life and the only way to teach them that lesson is through someone they love.

In any matter we must persevere, or we will never fully make it to that place that God wants us.

As in the the case with my mother, when the doctor told her she had cancer she cried as any normal human would. She had the surgery to remove it and then made a trip down to the Living Foods institute ( a holistic healing place ) were she proceeded to cleanse and become a raw vegan. For awhile, there was no sign of cancer, and then she start to slip back in to some of her old eating habits ( no one is perfect ), as this happened the cancer reappeared. She very quickly went back down to the center to get back on track, refusing to do chemo (Sp?) and radiation. One trip back to the doctor showed that the cancer had grown, but it wasn't as big as they thought it was going to be for a fast growing cancer. Many in my family kept pushing my mother to do chemo and radiation, totally out of love and wanting to keep her alive, but she still refused. Telling them in a very loving way that she truly believes God would bless her and heal her by eating the way her body need, and trusting God wholly, that she only needs to persever. And that perseverance is paying off, when she goes to the doctor they tell her everything looks normal, the only real way for them to tell she has it is the fact that they can see it, and the cancer has shrank, and stopped doing anything all together, it's just there. And my mother, my family, and I know that if she keeps persevering, and trusting God as she has from the beginning she will be totally healed and free.

"Perseverance must finish it's work...."