What Really Matters in Life: Lessons from Alone: Benefits of Adversity

@carol_mcclain

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.“ Galatians 6:7-8.
Adversity Creates Determination

I don’t need to tell you, we, in the US, live a coddled life.

  • Can’t pay the rent? The government will.
  • Need agave syrup? The local grocer has plenty.
  • Want a specialized sleep mask with aromatherapy? There are choices on Amazon.
  • How about…a boat? a car? a piece of jewelry

What happens when we can’t obtain these? Generally we complain and forget our blessings.

Neil and I are addicted to the reality show Alone which airs on Discovery. Here, ten contestants are dropped in aninhospitable locale and need to survive. The places range from Vancouver Island to Patagonia to Mongolia.  They can take ten items.

The contestants need to find their own food. Creat their shelters. Hold off predators. The reward is great, but the people only have a one in ten chance of making it.

As time progresses, life gets harder. As life gets harder, the people become more innovative. If their gill nets and fishing lines don’t yield food, they set snares. Can’t get a rabbit? They’ll trap a mouse or kill a snake. They have several earthly goals–the money, pride, family–and they do not want to give up. The longer they stay, the more determined they become to succeed. Even when they do not win, their determination through adversity reaps rewards.

I know for myself–when something’s handed to me, I don’t value it as much. When my father passed, I received a little money from his life insurance. I used it to pay off my car. Had I earned this money myself, it would’ve been invested, saved, used for something more critical.

I believe this is why lottery winners go broke so fast. They didn’t earn the money–so they burn through it.

For us, as Christians, when adversity comes, we grow. If we don’t get our reward on earth–we get it in heaven.

Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

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In Borrowed Lives, Meredith Jaynes experiences adversity no one should experience. Her grief, though, is put into perspective when she discovers three abandoned girls.

Reviews are steller on this work.

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