The theater fades to black. The screen flickers to life and the feature begins. The film whisks me through the standard story arc in 90 minutes. The introduction of the hero sparks empathy and our hero plummets from bliss to chaos. The last quarter of the movie displays the resolution and rising out of the ashes to the new normal.
I am a sucker for a story and my emotions quickly buckle up for the pending roller coaster ride. This plummet over the edge of sanity always gets my heart racing and somehow my eyes leak as if on cue from the director.
We watch our heroes and celebrate their return home. We revel in the entrepreneur's success when her company receives a massive evaluation, and the IPO is imminent.
Our tendency is to look at these accomplishments and gloss over the failures and hard lessons learned. We listen intently and analyze each word of their story looking for tactics to help us climb our personal ladder.
A common refrain of those having gone through the trials that delivered them strength, wisdom, wealth, or character, is, they wouldn't change a thing.
This claim doesn't seem to make sense. My prayer requests are not "bring on the trials," but instead more like, "I want the benefits without the trial."
If the hero must go through the fire to emerge with stronger character, more wisdom, or a successful business or family, why should I expect any different?
How do you embrace trials?
Child chess prodigy and Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, Josh Waitzkin, would seek out competitors that played of fought dirty. This sparring taught him how to handle chaos. Josh, purposely sought out brutal trials to become the best in the world, and it worked.
What trials have you welcomed?
What is your perspective when trials arrive on your doorstep?