There are days of victory.

You have them often.

Perhaps not as often as you'd like; but often!

Everything seems bright; everything shines; everything goes your way.

Hats off!

But this is earth -- the "world" -- and so the "day of victory" is often or even inevitably followed by the day (or at least the hour) of "defeat."

We put that word in quotes ("defeat") because when we do well at handling difficulties, defeats are turned into new victories!

The worst things that happen to you are opportunities for your greatest wins.

The devil always is around the corner, with a two-by-four. You're on a "high." You're feeling wonderful. You really feel full of the Holy Ghost. (Don't you love that name for Him?)

Then a moment later something or someone comes to slam you.

It's called life on earth.

Stop pretending you can turn life here into nirvana.

Stop pretending that perfection can come in this physical realm.

Instead, turn every such "slam" into a lesson.

Relish the opportunity to handle it correctly.

Pray to finally pass the "test."

Because we all have them. Trials.

A spouse is inattentive. A spouse feels he or she is always right. A spouse is blind to the damage he or she causes by ignoring certain needs.

A child rebels.

A friend deserts.

A doctor scares.

All tests of life.

All two-by-fours.

But you know something?

When we react to a two-by-four with faith and without revenge (with no spite or complaint, without whining), we now own that piece of wood. We own the two-by-four.

And we build with it (if we are carpenters like Joseph, who certainly saw his trials!).

Thus, the more times the devil slams us, and the more frequently we don't take the bait, the more wood we have to build with.

A piece of wood. A plank. A  beam.

Mansion. These are the many mansions. These are the mansions in Heaven that we begin to build here on earth.

[resources: A Life of Blessings]

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