Earlier this year I was talking with a few others about being hurt by the  people we love and trusted.   I would like to think that after 40+ years on this earth, there is a reason I am able to smile most of the time.  In  the most difficult trials, if  we are able to laugh about something, anything at all,  there is a 89% chance this trial wont break you.  Especially, those things that I can not control  or change.

I have spent my whole life gaining the experience needed to face one great big scary trial after another.  Maybe when it comes time for my biggest or final trial, I will be so used to staring fear in the face that I will pass with flying colors! 

I received the following joke a few weeks later in my email from one of the people I had talked with that night.  Here's part of what that email said;

"....It reminds me of something a wise old woman said: "I don't think the devil looks ugly and frightening. If he did, people wouldn't find him so attractive. The devil must be a handsome man." And the devil's sister is a pretty woman, as often as not.

One bright, beautiful Sunday morning, everyone in town got up early and went to the local church. Before the service started, the townspeople were sitting in their pews and talking about their lives, their families, and so on.   Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church.

Everyone started screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from evil incarnate. Soon everyone had left the church except for an elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew, not moving, seemingly oblivious to the fact that God's ultimate enemy was in his presence.

Now, this confused Satan a bit, so he walked up to the man and said, "Hey! Don't you know who I am?"

The man replied, "Yep, sure do."

Satan asked, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Nope, sure ain't," said the man.

Satan was a little perturbed at this and queried, "Why aren't you afraid of me?"

The man calmly replied, "I've been married to your sister for 25 years."

I know the feeling, my elderly friend. I know the feeling.


This email made me smile. Not only because it's a bit funny but because  sometimes I feel just like the man in the story.  I have got to the point where I am rarely shocked or blindsided by the trials life keeps tossing my way.

What ever it is we are dealing with at this moment, look at it from the perspective of that elderly man.  The years of heartache, sadness and pain at the hands of my mother, strengthened me so much that last year  when my sister turned my life upside-down  and her extreme hurt came along and caused heartache, I knew what I was in for and how to rise above it.  What about you?  

Maybe being bullied at school has helped you teach your kids to be more kind.  Maybe losing someone you love makes you love those around you more deeply.  Maybe you have gone out with so many idiots because you will need to recognize the right guy when he comes along. 

Perhaps we learn over and over again how to forgive so we will not be too proud when it is us that need to ask forgiveness.    Maybe you were in a situation where you needed to be saved so that someday you can help save another.  

Think about the stuff you are struggling with right now.    Who are you in our story?  Satan, The Elderly Man or the Sister?   Recognize which character you are and then proceed with caution & resolve.  It's one of two things.  

1. Either you have already been given the tools to get through this particular trial or what you are doing  now is preparing you for a strength you will need later on in life.   
2. As soon as you know exactly what role you play in your own life,  you need to go out and show life what you're made of.   Go laugh about it.  And then Blog about it.  :)

What is one moment in the past that has given you the experience to face today's trials with confidence?

Earlier this year I was talking with a few others about being hurt by the  people we love and trusted.   I would like to think that after 40+ years on this earth, there is a reason I am able to smile most of the time.  In  the most difficult trials, if  we are able to laugh about something, anything at all,  there is a 89% chance this trial wont break you.  Especially, those things that I can not control  or change.

I have spent my whole life gaining the experience needed to face one great big scary trial after another.  Maybe when it comes time for my biggest or final trial, I will be so used to staring fear in the face that I will pass with flying colors! 

I received the following joke a few weeks later in my email from one of the people I had talked with that night.  Here's part of what that email said;

"....It reminds me of something a wise old woman said: "I don't think the devil looks ugly and frightening. If he did, people wouldn't find him so attractive. The devil must be a handsome man." And the devil's sister is a pretty woman, as often as not.

One bright, beautiful Sunday morning, everyone in town got up early and went to the local church. Before the service started, the townspeople were sitting in their pews and talking about their lives, their families, and so on.   Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church.

Everyone started screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from evil incarnate. Soon everyone had left the church except for an elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew, not moving, seemingly oblivious to the fact that God's ultimate enemy was in his presence.

Now, this confused Satan a bit, so he walked up to the man and said, "Hey! Don't you know who I am?"

The man replied, "Yep, sure do."

Satan asked, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Nope, sure ain't," said the man.

Satan was a little perturbed at this and queried, "Why aren't you afraid of me?"

The man calmly replied, "I've been married to your sister for 25 years."

I know the feeling, my elderly friend. I know the feeling.


This email made me smile. Not only because it's a bit funny but because  sometimes I feel just like the man in the story.  I have got to the point where I am rarely shocked or blindsided by the trials life keeps tossing my way.

What ever it is we are dealing with at this moment, look at it from the perspective of that elderly man.  The years of heartache, sadness and pain at the hands of my mother, strengthened me so much that last year  when my sister turned my life upside-down  and her extreme hurt came along and caused heartache, I knew what I was in for and how to rise above it.  What about you?  

Maybe being bullied at school has helped you teach your kids to be more kind.  Maybe losing someone you love makes you love those around you more deeply.  Maybe you have gone out with so many idiots because you will need to recognize the right guy when he comes along. 

Perhaps we learn over and over again how to forgive so we will not be too proud when it is us that need to ask forgiveness.    Maybe you were in a situation where you needed to be saved so that someday you can help save another.  

Think about the stuff you are struggling with right now.    Who are you in our story?  Satan, The Elderly Man or the Sister?   Recognize which character you are and then proceed with caution & resolve.  It's one of two things.  

1. Either you have already been given the tools to get through this particular trial or what you are doing  now is preparing you for a strength you will need later on in life.   
2. As soon as you know exactly what role you play in your own life,  you need to go out and show life what you're made of.   Go laugh about it.  And then Blog about it.  :)

What is one moment in the past that has given you the experience to face today's trials with confidence?