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    Divine Science and New Thought

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    Elmer Garchitorena
    This document discusses the "Gifts of Adversity" as the topic presented by Rev. Dr. Sylvia S. Eriksson. It argues that adversity, when faced with the right attitude, can lift us up and renew us mentally and physically, similar to how metal is refined and strengthened through fire. The author provides personal examples of how adversity helped set them on a spiritual path and led others to feel they are better people for having gone through difficulties. It asserts that while we may not see the gifts of adversity at the time, we gather them as we learn and grow, with some appreciating years later that difficulties were for our own good. Facing adversity willingly leads to inner growth, refinement of character, and God

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    Divine Science and New Thought

    Uploaded by

    Elmer Garchitorena
    41 views2 pages
    This document discusses the "Gifts of Adversity" as the topic presented by Rev. Dr. Sylvia S. Eriksson. It argues that adversity, when faced with the right attitude, can lift us up and renew us mentally and physically, similar to how metal is refined and strengthened through fire. The author provides personal examples of how adversity helped set them on a spiritual path and led others to feel they are better people for having gone through difficulties. It asserts that while we may not see the gifts of adversity at the time, we gather them as we learn and grow, with some appreciating years later that difficulties were for our own good. Facing adversity willingly leads to inner growth, refinement of character, and God

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    from Reverend Sylvia Errikson

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    28. Divine_Science_&_New_Thought_Gifts_of_Adversitypdf

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    This document discusses the "Gifts of Adversity" as the topic presented by Rev. Dr. Sylvia S. Eriksson. It argues that adversity, when faced with the right attitude, can lift us up and renew us mentally and physically, similar to how metal is refined and strengthened through fire. The author provides personal examples of how adversity helped set them on a spiritual path and led others to feel they are better people for having gone through difficulties. It asserts that while we may not see the gifts of adversity at the time, we gather them as we learn and grow, with some appreciating years later that difficulties were for our own good. Facing adversity willingly leads to inner growth, refinement of character, and God

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    41 views2 pages

    Divine Science and New Thought

    Uploaded by

    Elmer Garchitorena
    This document discusses the "Gifts of Adversity" as the topic presented by Rev. Dr. Sylvia S. Eriksson. It argues that adversity, when faced with the right attitude, can lift us up and renew us mentally and physically, similar to how metal is refined and strengthened through fire. The author provides personal examples of how adversity helped set them on a spiritual path and led others to feel they are better people for having gone through difficulties. It asserts that while we may not see the gifts of adversity at the time, we gather them as we learn and grow, with some appreciating years later that difficulties were for our own good. Facing adversity willingly leads to inner growth, refinement of character, and God

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    Divine Science and New Thought

    The Discussion Topic for this issue is

    "Gifts of Adversity"
    Written and presented by Rev. Dr. Sylvia S. Eriksson.
    “In Thee, O Lord do I put my trust… deliver me in thy righteousness…I will be glad and
    rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble, thou hast known my soul in
    adversities…but I trusted in thee O Lord: I said, Thou art my God. Be of good courage, and
    he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.” Psalms 31:1,7,14,24.

    The Gifts of Adversity - it seems a strange thing to say – almost a contradiction in terms –
    yet the Truth of it cannot be denied. Adversity, when we respond to it with the right
    attitude, will lift us up and renew us, mentally and physically. Just like metal that goes
    through the fiery furnace and comes out refined, polished and shining with new strength
    and new possibilities of use – so we are transformed and renewed by the difficulties of our
    own life experience. As we journey through all that seems to be going wrong, so we gain
    the strength to spur us on to greater efforts and to even accomplish some ideal that may lie
    latent within us.

    I have personally found this to be true. I could never have become a Minister if I had not
    been through enough adversity to set me on the right spiritual path for me. No-one likes
    adversity – it can be such a painful journey, and yet, in my twenty years of listening to
    Welfare clients relating their sometimes horrendous life experiences, many of them have
    said, “I know it sounds strange but now I am glad I went though it because I am a much
    better person for it.” Oh, I heard that so many, many times over the years.

    So, there are gifts in adversity that are not immediately apparent to us as we travel the
    difficult road but we do gather the gifts as we learn and grow. Sometimes it is many years
    after the event that we appreciate that all the difficulty was for our own good after all. The
    things I cried most about, I now thank God they happened. When I thought everything was
    going Wrong they were really going Right!

    The human ego does not like any kind of discomfort, it revels in its comfort zone and does
    everything in its power to avoid disturbance of any kind. It settles into, what I call, the
    “everyday anaesthetic” of dull routine. Anaesthetised by the everydayness, the ego avoids
    all risk-taking activities and glories in its own comfort. It deeply resents change and settles
    into its daily habits and we have to be very careful of our habits because it is our habits
    that build our character.

    The human ego becomes so set in its ways, that just moving a piece of furniture so that we
    now have to walk through the room in a different way, can be upsetting until we get used to
    it. Attending to the minutiae of the daily routine can take up all our time and energy if we
    let it. This reminds me of the story of the old lady on her death-bed who said, “I’m glad I’m
    going, I’m so tired of all the everyday buttoning and unbuttoning.” So, we must be very
    careful of becoming too comfortable in our everydayness and set in our ways because we
    are missing out on all the gifts of the greater reality just waiting to burst through our
    everydayness.
    "Gifts of Adversity" Continued...

    As we read through Folk-tales and Folk-lore we find that the Heros or Heroines always
    come through their sufferings with the gift of greater conscious awareness, more inner
    strength, deeper insights to life. As their consciousness lifts to a higher plane so their outer
    lives are developed into a higher enjoyment of life. Their characters are refined and they
    gain their heart’s desire. For there is always a gift hidden in the heavy loads we may be
    carrying because God’s Law of Compensation recompenses us for all we have suffered.

    There is an Hasidic legend from early Jewish folk-tales that tells of the Suffering Tree.
    Those going through adversity were invited to hang their sufferings on the tree and to pick
    someone else’s suffering experience. Around and around the tree they all went but
    eventually everyone took their own suffering back. For it was only their own suffering that
    could benefit each one and lead them on to further inner growth.

    If we try to evade our responsibilities, try to palm off our duties to someone else, then we
    are giving away the hidden gift of inner growth and strengthening of character. We may
    think we have got way with it but “what we resist persists” so somewhere in the future we
    will find ourselves facing the same heavy load again and again until we have learnt our
    lesson. However, when we willingly accept seemingly onerous duties they are very soon
    lifted from us.

    Our acceptance has worked God’s Law of Compensation and we are rewarded for our
    efforts with the gift of inner growth, refinement of character and all God’s richest
    Blessings. We no longer strain and struggle to solve our problems we give them over to
    God’s guidance, and as we enjoy the gifts of more Discernment, we develop Patience, we
    have more Hope, more Creativity and more Compassion.

    Our innate, subconscious longing for spiritual growth is released and our Soul-urge for
    oneness with the Source of our Being brings our interior awareness closer to God. We
    know we are radiant spiritual beings put on this earth to build it into a better world.

    So, let us face our adversities with faith that all that God Is, is ours to express:
    Love, Peace, Joy, Harmony, Health and Prosperity. It’s all ours! Let us claim it now!

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