Even better than a Klondike Bar....

"the sufferings of this present time..."

Romans 8:18

Do you remember those commercials:  "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?"  People gave answers like: "bark like a dog," or "stand barefoot in a bowl of cold oatmeal" or whatever.   In exchange for chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream.

They're good, though.  Those Klondike bars.  I'm makin' myself hungry for one right now... But that's not hard for me to do where ice cream is concerned....

I'm reading a book about the World War II generation.  And the author is mentioning how his father, who fought in France, rarely talked about what he did in the service.  Partially because there were experiences he didn't want to relive, but also because there was a certain amount of modesty to that generation.  They did what had to be done, because they felt it was their duty.  Talking about it would seem like boasting, and they weren't comfortable with that.

I'm gonna make the Klondike/WWII connection in just a moment.... stick with me.

But the author's father summed up his war experience in this way: "When I look back on it now, it was worth giving up three years of my life rather than be ruled by someone like Hitler."

I stopped reading for awhile, when I read that sentence.  There is so much clarity there.   Wouldn't you; wouldn't I, give up three years of our lives, in dangerous and difficult circumstances, rather than be ruled by someone like Hitler?   Of course we would!  When you put it that way, there are a lot of things that would make that worth it.  It was worth it to the soldiers, sailors and airmen; it was worth it to the factory-workers, building those airplanes and battleships as fast as they could, the best they could.  And it was worth it to the families here at home.   Though they didn't know at the time how bad it might get, or how long it would last, I really think they knew that what they were going through was going to be worth it.  It was a price they were willing to pay, both to stop Hitler, and those like him from advancing farther; and to push him back from the land and lives he'd already stolen.

What does that mean to you?  What, in our lives, is worth what it cost us?   Is a gold medal in the Olympics worth the practice and training?  Yup.  Is a diploma worth the effort and time of classes and homework?  Yup.  Months of pregnancy and hours of labor?  Worth it.

And that can be said of any experience God has us walk through.  Good, bad or ugly, everything we go through has a point.  Nothing is wasted.   And knowing that... is what's called hope.  Colossians 1:27 says, "Christ in you, is the hope of glory".   What a promise that is!

If you're not walking through a difficult time right now, then either you've just finished, or it's right around the corner.  Walk through trials knowing they will be worth it.    There is joy in hope!  And that's way better than ice cream!

~ "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time 

are not worthy to be compared 

to the glory which shall be revealed in us." ~

Romans 8:18