Tested

To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist
Gail Sheehy

Imagine a life without challenges. Without problems. Without difficulties. Louis Lowry does a great job of describing that kind of life in "The Giver". What would you do? Sure, sitting down relaxing with a drink is very enjoyable for a short time but after a while you'd get pretty tired of it. We just aren't built to sit around and do nothing. God intended us to go out and get things down. To make a difference in the world. To help ourselves by helping everyone else.

To be tested is good. It is only when we are given a serious challenge to solve that we can rise to the difficulty. I never would have beleived I could deal with a child like my eldest one if I didn't have to actually do it. We have no idea of our capabilities until they are tested. We simply don't know what we can do until we try. But the only fair test for us is to measure ourselves against what we could do yesterday; as opposed to what other people have been able to do. We are not them, we don't have the same strengths (or weaknesses) that they do. Or the same circumstances.

The challenged life may be the best therapist. Anyone who complains that life is boring and meaningless and worthless does not have any goal to strive for, any challenge that they are motivated to try to overcome. Life is boring and meaningless and worthless if you have nothing to do and nowhere to go. Life is only enjoyable when we are solving problems, surmounting difficulties, and getting past obstacles; when we are taking action and moving forwards towards our goals. It is actually the challenges and difficulties that make life worth living.