God has not promised skies always blue

By DAVID L. CHANCEY Religion Columnist A lady with pain in her side went to see a physician. He told her she had appendicitis and must have an operation immediately. She decided to get a second opinion and went to see another doctor. He told her she had gall bladder trouble and must have an operation immediately. A friend asked her, "Where do you go from here?" She answered, "Back to the first doctor. I'd rather have appendicitis." Most of us would rather have neither, but there's one ailment that's common to us all troubles. Call it suffering, problems, tribulations, character builders, as one fellow put it, "We all have our loads to carry." One lady said recently, "I've got so many problems that if anything drastic happened today, it would be two weeks before I could get around to worrying about it." Suffering will either make you bitter or better. When troubles come you can either sit down and quit or determine to do your best to keep plodding and give it your best shot. Often the plodders are the most successful in life. Walt Disney applied at a midwestern newspaper for a job as an artist. He was told he did not have talent and was urged to give up art. His first cartoon was "Oswald the Rabbit." It flopped. After that he drew "Mickey Mouse." John Bunyan was incarcerated in the Bedford jail when he wrote "Pilgrim's Progress." Victor Hugo was exiled. At that time he wrote one of the greatest novels the world has known, "Les Miserables." George Westinghouse was treated as a mild lunatic by most railroad executives. "Stopping a train by wind! He's crazy!" Yet he persevered, and finally sold the idea of air brakes. James Watt built model after model of his steam engine before he got one that worked efficiently. Annie Johnson Flint was crippled and twisted most of her life with arthritis, yet out of her ordeal of protracted pain, she developed a sensitivity to suffering that helped her understand and encourage others who also were suffering. She wrote these words of encouragement: God hath not promised skies always blue, Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through; God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, Peace without pain. God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, Swift easy travel, Needing no guide. He hath not promised we shall not bear Many a burden, many a care. But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way, Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love.