"we carry the treasure of the Gospel in these earthen vessels that are easily broken, because when we are most broken, Christ is most beautiful."
(see 2 corinthians 4:7-10) 


on the trip to MN, i listened to a bunch of reality podcasts and the one that really stuck out to me was the one by britt merrick, struck down but not destroyed. & he talks about his daughter daisy, who at that point had been going through chemotherapy for cancer, but they had just found out that the cancer was back and that she wasnt expected to live very much longer. and he was totally devastated. but he went on to teach about how when we are most broken, christ is most beautiful. and if you think about it, christ cant be beautiful to you UNTIL you are broken. he really isnt that big of a deal until you are down and out and on your last barely-hanging thread. or at least thats how it is in our culture. but there is something so incredibly beautiful about a humble, vulnerable, broken, humiliated person on their face before the God of the universe. and hearing britt talk about his 7 year old daughter fighting for her life and the horror of what they have had to go through, and having him say that they still find their joy in Christ Jesus, and that they still will bless the name of God and thank him for the trials, its a perfect example.
he went on to talk about the hundreds of blessings that have come as a result of this huge, major, horrible trial--daisy having a strong, real, deep faith in the Lord; himself becoming a better father and husband, same for his wife. and he talked about people becoming closer and bonding together in times of trials. people dont get close when things are all good, people form the tightest bonds in the hardest of times. and thinking about the very closest people to me in my life, that rings true.
but there is nothing bad enough on this earth that can separate us from the love of God, NOTHING. "for i am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in christ jesus our Lord." (romans 8:38-39). there is no trial that we can ever go through in which God is not there, guiding us every step of the way. nothing is too big for him, nothing surprises him or catches him off guard, he is always in control and always loving us. the bad stuff is not even worth comparing because the good in the kingdom of heaven far outweighs the evil of this world. "so we do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." (2 corinthians 4:16-17) and that is the most encouraging thing.


so praise God for trials and brokenness and times when i honestly do not believe i can bear it. praise God for his love.