Good timber

 

Adversity is God’s university. 

~ Author unknown 

Adversity! God’s divine way of preparing a man. When troubles crucify, we torment. We complain and criticize. We blame and escape. We become irritable and dissatisfied. But here, we need to appreciate the purpose of the difficulty.

The unanticipated calamities are being sent by God. He is preparing us for greatness. In adversity, the true potential is revealed and strong character is shaped. So ultimately adversity is an opportunity for growth.  

Here is a wonderful poem that discovers the real meaning of adversity in life. 

The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men, good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.

~ Douglas Malloch

*****

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." 

~ Khalil Gibran

*****

Life is a game, play it.

Life is an opportunity, take it. 

Life is a tragedy, face it. 

Life is sorrow, overcome it. 

Life is a struggle, fight it.

~ From Bhagavad Gita