Recently, part of my quest has been in praying that He will take my weaknesses and make them into strengths. I have also prayed that I would have Charity. The true charity that is more than taking in a meal to someone, donating to a charity or watching someone's children, but is a true Christ-like love for those around me. The kind of love that is patient, long-suffering, and kind, without envy, frustration, or anger. I want to see people the way He sees them.
As crazy as is sounds, I guess I kinda hoped that these things would just happen, that Heavenly Father would finally decide that I have prayed enough for this gift and I would one day wake up and have a deeper love for mankind, and no desire to do any evil.
Instead, I have been given unique opportunities where I have been faced with increased negativity from others, have been persecuted for who I am and what I believe, have had people focus their energy on some of my weaknesses and not rejoiced in my strengths, have been accused of things I haven't done and even more challenging scenarios. In each of these cases I have had to decide how I am going to handle it. I have had to make a conscience choice to do my best to follow the example of Christ.
These challenges have tested my love for mankind, and have brought my weaknesses square in front of my face. But I have also seen some growth. I have seen that I have handled the situation better now than I think I would have a couple of years ago. I have felt His strength helping me and have felt Him lift the burden when I finally decided to give it to Him. I have had to make a choice, to have these experiences help me become a bitter person or a better person. Although I am not perfect at it, I have tried to do the latter.
