The Colonel's Motivational Quotes of the Day!

Good Morning COL Mikel J. Burroughs ...

“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer,

“Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you to do in the world. So long as you can sweeten another's pain, life is not in vain.” — Helen Keller

Good Tuesday RP Friends

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sBKybUusyP8

Good morning from Hartland COL Mikel J. Burroughs and thank you for the quotes of the day. My best to you, mom and Bella on this fine day.

SSG William Jones Samantha S. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price COL Mikel J. Burroughs Cynthia Croft LTC Stephen F. ] Alan K. SGT John " Mac " McConnell LTC (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SPC Douglas Bolton Lt Col Charlie Brown Sgt Randy Wilber MSgt John McGowan Cpl (Join to see) PO3 John Wagner PO3 Bob McCord SGT Jim Arnold SPC Margaret Higgins

Pain has been a constant companion to me 24/7 since July 1986. I would not have been able to endure without depending on Christ to get me through day by day. I got hurt on the job and tried to work through it until 1990 when the medical board said I was a hazard to myself and my fellow Deputy Sheriffs working the streets.
In 1996 I got my Grandson to raise because his parents became a scent in his life. Years later when my son tried to regain custody the court would not allow it after Guardian ad litem reports said for the sake of the child, he should remain with me. As a result my son disowned me and said he did not consider me his father. That pain almost broke me. I cried out to God and He got me through it. (Oh, wow, I’m reliving that hurtful pain as I write). Now my Grandson blames me for all of this and does not speak to me.
Then in February of last year I was diagnosed with head and n close cancer. The radiation treatments were difficult because they attached my head on the radiation table with a face form fitting mask. Not pleasant for someone with any amount of claustrophobia. I prayed during every treatment for God to get me through it. I am happy to say He was faithful.
I didn’t expect to write this as I started typing but alas I did. LOL I hope you enjoy the piece I have chosen today about why we suffer. Be Blessed my RP Family.


Taken from focusonthefamily.com

When We Suffer: A Biblical Perspective on Chronic Pain and Illness
By Mary J. Yerkes
Part of the Living With Chronic Pain and Illness Series
Living With Chronic Pain and Illness
Adjusting to Life With Chronic Illness
Remaining Positive When Facing a Chronic Illness
When We Suffer: A Biblical Perspective on Chronic Pain and Illness
Ministering Effectively to the Chronically Ill
Story: A Journey Through Chronic Illness
Series About:
Emotional Health
If God loves us, why do we suffer? Christian or not, it's a question that comes up repeatedly during times of grief and tragedy. In times of distress, we want to know that our suffering matters to God and that He cares about our pain.

"Sometimes a fresh word may, in fact, be a very old one," write Joni Eareckson Tada and Steven Estes in When God Weeps—Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty.

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"Truths that are timeless often need only the 'time' brushed away in order to reveal the polished patina that has gleamed all along."
Pastor Tim Hager, an associate minister in the Washington D.C. area, asserts that we suffer because we live in a fallen world.

"When sin entered the world, death entered," he says. "Chronic pain, illness, and disease are a form of death."

Despite this harsh reality, Richard C. Leonard, a minister with a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies, urges the chronically ill to take their questions to God rather than allow them to become a wedge in their relationship with Him.


"Follow the example of the Psalmists," he says, "who sometimes cry out to God as though taking Him to task for their problems, but who persist in their conversation with Him; eventually [they received] an answer, reinforcing His faithfulness to His servants."

Suffering, in many ways, remains a mystery, one that we will never fully understand this side of eternity. We can, however, glean these truths from God's Word:

Suffering produces intimacy with God (Job 42:5).

Job, who endured unspeakable suffering, said, "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you."

Intimacy with God is often borne in the furnace of affliction.

"There's an opening of the soul that happens during times of stress or duress," says Dr. Hager. "During times of suffering, we experience God at a deep, profound level."

Suffering equips us to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

Suffering gives us compassion for others who are hurting, enabling us to minister more effectively.

"Sufferers want to be ministered to by people who have suffered," writes Stephen F. Saint in his essay, "Sovereignty, Suffering, and the Work of Missions."

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"People who suffer want people who have suffered to tell them there is hope. They are justifiably suspicious of people who appear to have lived lives of ease."
Those who have suffered make the most effective comforters.

Suffering refines us.

We can read in Isaiah 48:10 that "…I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction."

The meaning of this verse makes it clear that pain and suffering have a way of bringing our strengths and weaknesses to the surface. When the dross floats to the surface, God skims it off; he purifies and refines us to be the radiant bride of Christ.

Suffering produces growth and maturity (James 1:2-4).

If we turn toward God in our pain, He can use our suffering to mature our faith. We see this biblical truth illustrated through the persecuted church. After hearing their testimonies, few would deny that suffering produces beauty and maturity of spirit.

Suffering conforms us into God's image (Romans 8:28-29).

We may be tempted to read these verses to say that God will bring good out of everything. While He can and does redeem pain in our lives, these verses speak of being conformed to God's image through our suffering.

"If we are willing to sit still and let God work, we will find ourselves being transformed into the image of Jesus," says Pastor Paul Daniel Jackson, a pastor at a church in Tucson.

And Jackson speaks from experience.

His wife, Jodee, suffered with breast cancer before passing away in 2002.

"Though this horrendous experience, God did incredible things. Her mother accepted Jesus Christ as Savior…God also changed those who cared for her. Our lives were enriched by suffering [Emphasis mine]."

Simply put, when we seek God through His Word and prayer, we find Jesus. Remember, Jesus understands our pain because he, too, suffered.

We read the words of Psalm 22:1: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?"

Did God abandon His Son in His hour of need? We find the answer three days later—God raised Him from the dead! Because of this promise, we have hope for our future.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
PO1 Shannon Drosdak PO1 Henry Jackson PO1 G. Leslie /Stiltner PO1 Raymond Fochler PO1 Kenneth Cary PO1 Arthur Hapenney PO1 Michael Gensburger PO1 Todd Cousins PO1 Shahida Marmol PO1 Wayne Rogers PO1 Ron Eason PO1 Thomas Franklin SSG Matthew Buffington PO1 Eric Nakamura