The Green ~ Joy in Trials
While i was living in Oxford, i travelled to Ireland to learn more about my family’s history. As i was back-packing through the country, guided by old maps my grandfather drew, i was struck by the sheer greenness of that place. i kept thinking, "How on earth is it so green ?" Ireland gets up to 80 inches of rainfall per year, and that certainly helps. My home-state Colorado averages only 17 inches of rainfall per year. i love Colorado because of the sunshine, “300 days of sunshine” as we say. But the sun does not make a land turn green. One of my favorite songs is “I Have Made Mistakes” by the Oh Hello’s. The refrain says: “The sun does not cause us to grow. It is the rain that will strengthen your soul.” Count it all joy, writes James, when you meet trials. The testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Steadfastness will have its full effect, completing you into what you are meant to be...Perfect and lacking nothin...