Circumstanial Revelation

"Circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him."

- James Lane Allen

I read this quote just a few minutes ago as I'm sitting in the hospital with my beautiful daughter Emily. Our hospital visits are usually seizure related but this time we are here because she has pneumonia. We hate being in the hospital, who wouldn't? But we are thankful that we have almost gone a year (11 months) since our last visit. Not only that, but we are here because of something other than seizures!

That being said, I found it very appropriate that I should just happen across the quote at the top of this post. Most of the time we hear about how someone learned a lot because of a specific circumstance or a sequence of circumstances they were in. But never had I thought about it in this particular way. I never considered that circumstances actually reveal who we are.

Ever heard the old saying, "I wouldn't want to go through that again, but now that it's over with, I'm glad I did because I'm a stronger person because of it"? I know for me, I've said it a bunch of times. I've been through a lot of circumstances that have truly grown my faith and made me a stronger person. Circumstances that not only helped me but helped me help others too.

While it's true that circumstances will always have the potential to help us grow stronger it is also true our circumstances can be the best tool to actually show us WHO we are. Next time your circumstances aren't so pleasant and you find yourself becoming frustrated, take a minute to think about this opportunity for revelation. Let your circumstances reveal who you are!