Ben-Hur and me

This morning I woke up to feed Caleb his bottle at about 6a.m. He actually fell back asleep and the other boys were still sleeping, so I thought I would have a nice quiet time with my Savior. Then the boys woke up. :) I'm finding it very difficult to arrange my schedule so I can have a quiet time. You may be thinking, what about now instead of blogging? I managed to get the boys interested in breakfast while I had time in another room. :) Anyway, I wanted to share what I read out of Our Daily Bread, so here it is:
'Lew Wallace's book Ben-Hur tells the story of a Jewish aristocrat betrayed by his friend and condemned to serve as a galley slave in the Roman navy. On a forced march to the ship, Judah Ben-Hur meets Jesus of Nazareth, whose compassion fills him with hope. Eventually, Ben-Hur saves the Roman commander during battle. In gratitude, the commander adopts Ben-Hur as his son, instantly elevating him from slave to heir.
That's what happens to us when God adopts us into his family. But great privilege brings great responsibility. Paul said that we become "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him" (Rom. 8:17) The gospel does not say"Come to Jesus and live happily ever after." God's syllabus for His children's education includes training through hardships.
Ben-Hur's years of enduring hardship as a roman slave strengthened him and increased his endurance. He eventually defeated his "friend-turned-enemy" in a chariot race.
As endurance and training were key to Ben-Hur's victory, so are they vital in the Christian's war with sin and evil. The hard times we endure are God's way to prepare us for greater service for His glory.'

As I look back on my life I think of the hardships and joys. The hardest thing I've had to go through is losing my son, Todd. It was such a shock and certainly nothing I ever thought I'd have to go through. There were questions, why me? what did I do? why didn't You work a miracle? The thing is I didn't 'do' anything, losing Todd was not punishment for anything. Also, God did work a miracle, just not in the way I would have chose. He showed me what His comfort feels like and how to comfort others. He showed me how to be joyful while I'm suffering. He showed me that even though I will go through hard times I will always have Him, I will never lose God. Again, I would never have chosen to say goodbye to my son, but I will always cherish the things that I have gained through my loss. Way too many things to mention in one blog...till next time,
Amy