Village: The Village Inn
discussing quote:
Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of.
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon
Started by 
facilitiesmanager
This is good! Sometimes it is said that hardships develop us, and that is true to a certain extent, but we must first survive and not make the circumstance worse than it initially was because we reacted badly. We respond properly to adversity when we have the perspective that we can and will work through the adversity, with God's help. We can then approach the hardship with a sense of pragmatism where we are in control and not the hardship. Hardships will display how our character has been developed to this point.
kthymcmlln said:
this also involves character and integrity in the faith centered life. a professor of mine just did an amazing study of character and how character without integrity is almost impossible. and in order to build character one needs hardship in order to get through the adversities that strengthen our perspectives of how God works in us and in the world around us. I agree too though, that the way we initially react can either make the experience either positive or negative if our first responcse to the circumstance is to re - act badly. We need to be level headed in order to grow.