And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
—Romans 5:3–5
Divine love designed us with the capacity to develop character out of whatever happens to us. The teachings of parents and church have played a role in the kind of people we have become. But let’s not discount all the “stuff that shouldn’t have happened”—the trials and problems we have suffered and worked through year after year.
Holy Spirit, I remember going through [blank]. Help me linger with that memory. Open my eyes and heart to whatever growth or wisdom developed in me during that time.
from “small simple ways: an Ignatian daybook for healthy spiritual living” by Vinita Hampton Wright, Loyola Press
