Could we Handle It?

I've learned that when we go through rough stuff, we CAN handle whatever we have to. As I read Kari's post about the contest and the comments posted in the voting I realized we commonly say things like, "I don't think I could handle that" or "I can't imagine going through that" or "I don't know how she does it, I never could". When we view the challenges of others it is difficult to see how they cope and to believe that we could cope. If we haven't been confronted with that challenge, be it death of a spouse, longterm illness, children with disabilities, military deployments, death of a child etc...we probably couldn't handle it. I believe that God gives us the ability to handle whatever difficulty He allows us to experience. If we don't have that problem then maybe we COUlDN'T handle it. But rest assured, others are not sure they could handle the issues we routinely deal with. I read Kari's blog

The other finalists are such amazing women who have gone through such difficult situations: things that I cannot imagine enduring. So, I am shocked to be listed amongst them

and had to chuckle because she expresses the same idea that many others express. We each are given a road to travel. I think each of us is on a road that has only the challenges that we can handle at that time. If my kids are happy, healthy, if my husband is here everyday and I am healthy both bodily and mentally then that is the sum total of the challenge that I am equipped to handle today. Now, if something we to change, should something difficult happen, then I believe I could handle it. Lest that sound smug or superior, let me confess that I handle nothing alone. I know it is God who gives me the strength and wisdom to get through the routine issues of parenting pre-schoolers and living on a single income, a teacher's salary. So if God allows tragedy or difficulty, He will give me the strength, grace and wisdom to manage or He will bring me Home. God doesn't cause my difficulties, but He allows me to go through them, be it death of a parent, a friend, illness, job loss, marital issues, or what have you. I am thankful for the uneventfulness of my life, believe me, I thank God each day, I also pray for wisdom and grace to deal with what life brings me. He always answers my prayers. Just not always the way I expect. My sister-in-law said she stopped praying for patience. God just gave her opportunities to practice patience and stretch that muscle. I laughed when she told me that. I ususally want the wisdom to come as some lightbulb kind of thing. When I need that knowledge it will just be there. And sometimes it is. More often I get wisdom through the experiences and challenges I have to deal with. So maybe instead of being afraid of our challenges, we should embrace them. As many of the voters in the contest seemed to say, there is always someone out there who has a harder road than we do. At least it seems harder from the outside. Maybe they can't imagine how we face our day.