Pressed, But Not Crushed

Tip: When photographing an arch, try to find pathways, footprints, or lines of people to draw the eye towards the focal point of the image.

On an enchanting hike through a snowy forest, I saw a picture of life. Snow fell relentlessly from the sky, piling upon the snow from the area's previous storms. It stacked upon the trees- up to 6 inches deep on some branches! Occasionally, my brother and I had to stoop under trees such as the one above, that were bent nearly to the ground under the weight of billions of little ice crystals.

How do I see life in this? I see life in it because in our own, typically in invisible ways, life weighs upon us. Trials God has placed us in make us feel as hopelessly bent in the weight of matters as this tree is. Maybe it is physical pain, maybe it is emotional strain, maybe it is the knowledge that we must carry out a difficult task soon.

Whatever is weighing on you lately, remember that God placed us in the world to be a light to others as we press on through these situations. We are fragile, fallible beings- "jars of clay", as the verse below puts it. We cannot triumph and bring good from anything in our lives; when good comes from our difficulties, it is because God chose to use us to reveal Himself to the world. Press on, my friend- you never know how God may use you to bring Himself glory! 

"For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." (2 Corinthians 4:6-10)