Things could always be worse……

I  know I came down a little hard yesterday on working an event like the Derby, but I had a reason, it was a set-up, I set you up!  God has taught me some very valuable lessons over my life.  Maybe one of the most important is that no matter how bad you think things are , they could be much worse.  The photo above was made of me early in my career when I worked in Eastern Kentucky for a coal company.  My job required me to go into the mines quite a lot.  I will be very honest, I didn’t like it a bit.  I was scared down in the mines, and for good reason, it was a very dangerous environment.  I saw more than few men die during those times I was working in and out of the mines.

When I finally left that industry, I never looked back, but I never forgot how thankful I was to work, above ground!  God lets us experience things sometimes that may not be pleasant, but leads us to an understanding of just how fortunate we are, and how much He has blessed us!  Do I want to go back into the mines?  No way, but I’m glad that I had that experience, it reminds me often that my worst day is nothing like as bad as those days, five miles back under a mountain with only 32 inches from top to bottom to crawl around in.

Don’t curse God for your circumstances, ask Him to show you what He wants you to learn from them.  Know that He never allows anything to come into our lives that will not help us in the long run.  If you’ve given Him your life, you can trust Him with it!  And the next time you think you’re having a tough day, stare at the photograph above for a few minutes!  I bet you will feel better!  If I endured it for no other reason than to make you thankful you’re not in the picture, it was worth it……

Blessings,

the pilgrim