When I look at female characters, I want to recognize myself in them: my trials, my tribulations as a mother, as a lover, as a daughter.

Every disability conceals a vocation, if only we can find it, which will ‘turn the necessity to glorious gain.

Kafara ya maombi ni kushukuru wakati wa matatizo. Kushukuru kuna nguvu kuliko kuomba.

Truly it is the hardest of all trials to see souls so dear in pains we cannot remedy.

For when God is said by these things to try men and prove them, to see what is in their hearts and whether they will keep His commandments or no, we are not to understand,...

Cradle of SolitudeFor we know not why our tribulationsare given as suchour fragile formscreated from the dust…

Nothing in this world compares to the comfort and security of having someone just hold your hand.

Life is a battle, and you either enter it armed, or surrender immediately.

You never really know what’s coming. A small wave, or maybe a big one. All you can really do is hope that when it comes, you can surf over it, instead of drown in its...

The most important moments in a trial are often not seen by a jury. That is because it’s one of the judge’s main responsibilities to screen what they see and hear, lest they be prejudiced....

Live in the moment… where everything is just right, take your time and limit your bad memories and you’ll get wherever it is you’re going a lot faster and with less bumps in the road...

Breaking a sweat through our difficulties minimized the likelihood of a crippling injury to our faith.

Final authority in the spiritual world does not tend to come from any kind of agenda success but from some kind of suffering. Insecurity and impermanence are the best spiritual teachers.

Closing your eyes won’t make the awfulness go away. It may be that nothing will. But dwelling on it, dreading the evil, playing out the misery in your head – doesn’t this feed the monster?...

I had treated my temporary earthly problems so emotionally and seriously that they became major energy zappers, brain drains, and heart breakers. I knew I was a Christian living in this world, but things didn’t...

Circumstances that weigh you down and obstacles that block your path are God’s way of building spiritual muscle. Shortcuts and escape routes won’t build the stamina you’ll need to complete the course.

In trials and hardships, we can choose to be grounded in hope and experience peace in the chaos, or wiggle and wrestle with worry and wind up at the same destination!EL

Patience is produced in the midst of storms; it blossoms under the intense pressures of the storms.

Keith: Sometimes God grants us sustenance. But God also grants us deliverance. It’s only a matter of time.

Far more important than the tribulations and heartaches, the thrills, merriment, and pleasures of life is what you learn from it all. It isn’t the tunnel we pass through that matters; it’s what emerges on...

Time and again the sun sets like a bedimming curtain before my eyes, taking with it all illumination, warmth, and color. I am overwhelmed by night and the monsters that lurk in shadows of despair....

There is always a storm. There is always rain. Some experience it. Some live through it. And others are made from it.

Suffering is one of life’s great teachers.

Mungu hutumia majaribu makubwa katika maisha yetu kutukomaza na kutukamilisha. Kitu kisichokuua hukufanya mpiganaji.

I take each day for what it is, a small turn in the road which cannot be anticipated. I take each obstacle as part of that road and do not try and move it, but...

I am grateful for all the trials for that made be a better person.

Trials come to each of us. Living righteously does not mean that our lives will be free of problems or sorrow, but no matter what hardships we face we can always rely on Heavenly Father...

If you feel like a nearly-drowned rat that’s been dragged through the mud, all twisted up inside your mother’s borrowed, prized quilt, having been tossed about by gale force winds that managed to entangle you...

If outer events bring him to a position where he can bear them no longer and force him to cry out to the higher power in helplessness for relief, or if inner feelings bring humiliation...

Depression weighs you down like a rock in a river. You don’t stand a chance. You can fight and pray and hope you have the strength to swim, but sometimes, you have to let yourself...

If you fall-and trust me, you will- make sure you fall on your back. Because if you fall on your back, you can see up. And if you can see up, you can get up....

No matter how hard we try, we can never understand everything that another person has gone through or why they might believe a certain way. It is possible for something to be right for you...

Ann: How does God’s character fit into things that seem totally against his character?

The law is logical and is based on common sense. The trick was to argue the law in favor of your particular point of view without sounding biased. It was kind of like a magic...

Don’t judge too harshly, for if your weaknesses were to be placed under your footsteps, most likely you would stumble and fall as well.

Life isn’t about learning how to weather the storm. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.

It’s a shame there has to be a tragedy before the best in people will finally shine.

If life is a song, and God is the divine conductor, I must consider these trials and troubles as the harmony of my song, for every song needs more than a melody!

The key that unlocks the treasure chest of God’s peace is faith in the promises of God.

Ann: I feel like I should read verses and be comforted. But it doesn’t happen.

Life is hard and unfair. It is cruel and heartless, painful, trying, disappointing, unapologetic, and frequently downright awful. But that’s not important. What’s important is that through it all you learn how much you need...

The bitterest hardships, the most daunting trials; none of these are burdens if it means being with you.

God didn’t design your life so you would constantly fall down, but he does hope that you will be brought to your knees.

How can we who are so weak in ourselves, so inferior in power to the enemies confronting us, bear up under our trials which are so numerous, so protracted, so crushing? We could not, and...

A wilderness experience includes a long walk back.

You might not recognize it, but your trials have made you stronger. You are not a walking disaster, and you will triumph over your demons. Nothing defeats a valiant heart.

momentary.” They only last for a short time.

Why wait? So precious is this life—this gift—this temporary blindness. Burn and drown and embrace the false dark, then grasp the unthinkable height of resulting joy. For in the end, in the light of truth...

Life demands much. Give more.

Life itself is simple…it’s just not easy.