As Christians, we have all heard a million times that God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers and that he will never give to us more than we are able to handle. Unfortunately for some of us who are stronger, that may mean that we have to deal with a lot more than a friend or family member and that sometimes may seem unfair to us; however we need to keep in mind that God and His plans are greater than our own and He knows us better than we will EVER know ourselves.

Think back to the hardest time in your life that you have so far experienced- maybe it was losing a loved one, moving to a new school, or dealing with divorce in your family; the list goes on. These things are all very hard things to go through, I have experienced all of them so I know what it's like to feel like you're the only one who is feeling that pain; but when you really look at the people you have in your life, you begin to realize that many of them have gone through the same things or similar things as you have. Now think back on these things and ask yourself "how would the positive things be changed if the negatives wouldn't have happened?" For me this meant my parents divorce and moving to a new school- it was not what I wanted but now when I look at the situation as a whole I think of all of the amazing things that came out of those hard times including a new baby sister, the best friends I will ever have in my life and finally finding a church where I feel like I belong.

When I was going through these hard times I was lost to say the least, though I have always been Christian and attended many types of churches before finally finding one I loved, it wasn't until my sophomore year of high school when I realized the lost and empty feeling that I had was a missing presence of God in my life. I was no longer turning to scripture and prayer for answers and security, I was turning to earthly distractions that brought me temporary comfort and entertainment. That is when I knew a change needed to be made and that change all started with knowing and accepting the fact that although to others, what I am going through might seem minor, they're MY battles. Different things are harder for different people; that would be where the "God will never give YOU more than YOU can handle" comes in because what you can handle may not be the same as the person who sits next to you in English class.

This being said, it is so important to keep that in mind, that though something may not seem like a big deal to you it could be the hardest thing that ever happened in someone else life. No matter what situation, we as Christians need to stand for each other and show the world that we love everyone and are there to support anyone who needs it.

The most essential thing I would want to be taken away from this is that we need to keep in mind that God does have a plan, and God is good all the time. No matter what you are feeling, no matter how badly it might hurt, pain is temporary and as Romans 8:18 states, "The joy that you've been feeling can't compare to the joy that's coming."