Joy in Trials – A Secret Place Devotion

I have been away from the blogosphere for a few weeks because life has been a little wacky. We sold our house, packed up our house, went on vacation to a tropical paradise, came back home to the frozen tundra and then moved across town about 12 hours after our plane landed. Subsequently, we’ve been settling in and trying to find things like shoes and spatulas.

I believe the human members of our family have found “the groove” again, but our poor little reptile has not. Traumatized Tyson the turtle shoots off his basking platform like a bullet smashing into the glass wall of his aquarium every time there is a sudden movement within a 10-foot radius.  It’s all right little buddy. I promise the next time we move you it will be at least 75-degrees warmer outside.

My writing goals for the winter have been seriously revamped as I haven’t been on my computer much for a month, but I was happily reminded by fellow writer Tammie Edington Shaw that one of my devos was published in the Secret Place yesterday, so I’ll share it here with you.

(The following devo was written while my dear friend Mara was living with us last year. She is now married to a super guy and expecting her first baby. Yay!)

Joy in Trials

Her wedding was only six weeks away. Two weeks ago she lost her job. Yesterday she totaled her car. What should be one of the happiest seasons of her life was riddled with stress and disappointment. How was she going to find a new job without a car? How would she be able to buy a car without a job?

I sat on my couch mentally creating various scenarios that might help her and reduce her stress. In the midst of my musings, she walked up the stairs with her laptop in her hand and a smile on her face saying, “At least I didn’t get hurt.” The she sat down to look for jobs online.

Mara did not complain in the midst of difficulties. As I worried about my young friend who was temporarily living in our basement bedroom, she was focusing on the p0isitive and moving on to the next step. Her refreshing atitude despite her challenging life circumstances was a reminder to me to find joy in my trials.

James 1:2 Consider it pure joy my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds…

To receive The Secret Place quarterly devotional in the mail visit www.judsonpress.com.

By KimHarms

Kim Harms is an author, speaker, and part-time library assistant with two decades of freelance writing experience. She has a degree in English from Iowa State University. She and her husband Corey have three super-awesome sons and one crazy dog. A two-time breast cancer survivor, her first book, Life Reconstructed: Navigating the World of Mastectomies and Breast Reconstruction (Familius), is a guide for women walking the breast cancer road. She is currently working on her second book, a devotional for women going through breast cancer.

0 comments

  1. This is my girl! I love how you have ALWAYS been able to see her wonderfulness. It is something I seriously cherish.

  2. I had no idea this existed until Marilyn mentioned it to me on Sunday. (could be you told me about it and my pregnant brain immediately threw the information out the back door, it’s been happening a lot lately) I am beyond honored to have been the subject of one of your devotionals, and I am so blessed to know that the story of that crazy time of my life might be (and has been!) an encouragement to others. 🙂

    1. I know I intended to tell you about it, but I think I may have forgot. And I don’t have a pregnant brain to blame! That was a crazy time for you, but I’m so glad you spent it with us 🙂

Leave a Reply to Cinnamon Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *