Running with a Broken Leg

In the last few weeks my daughter's attention has been on some kittens that have come across our path.  They were sickly and vulnerable so we thought the best place for them was in our garage.  Upon caring for them we found that one of the three babies was either born with its leg bent and deformed, or was broken during the first few hrs of her life.  Truthfully, it was gruesome for me to look at, I wondered if it was hurting the poor thing or if the cat would soon die from being puny and disadvantaged.  We just waited and let nature take its course.

To our surprise after a week or so, we observed the lame kitten was the one moving more than her two siblings.  She was walking all over the place with her foot bent backwards and getting exactly to the places she wanted to go.  Her brother and sister, on the other hand, were not doing half as well, they were still fumbling and falling and giving up before they could get anywhere.  They had it easier so they didn't experience the fight to gain their momentum and cover their ground, instead just laid where they struggled.

Of course, as God often uses things like that to bring up spiritual truths, I immediately thought of the verse that says "..we glory in tribulation, knowing that it produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint..."  Rom 5: 3-5.  I saw what seemed to me to be an obstacle to get in the way of the kitten's growth and vitality and I have been proved that this "hindrance" was only something to make her work harder and coming out better than her siblings.

Where are you broken?  Often we think to ourselves, "If only I didn't have these issues always rising up in my life I would be able to grow and mature and become a better person, but these issues keep getting in the way."  Look at the issues a little differently.  Let them be a reason to try a little harder or lean on God a little more.  Just don't flop down where you struggle only to lay there.....unsatisfied.  You may just gain the momentum you need to pass up everyone else who always "has it easier".  And how much more satisfied will you be knowing you cleared your obstacle and became better for it.
 "Thanks be to God who ALWAYS leads us in triumph IN CHRIST, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place." 2 Cor 2:14