Suffering and affliction are not things to endure for the sake of enduring. They have a purpose. They are means for better things. When spring came to England after the great air raids of 1941, it brought a great botanical resurrection. The bursting of bombs in the fields and cities brought sub-soil to the surface which contained the seeds of plants which had been long since extinct. These resurrected seeds which had slumbered for decades were brought to life and induced to grow prolifically by the aid of nitrates from exploding bombs which had enriched the soil. Some ninety-five different kinds of flowers and shrubs were found in the bomb-pocked landscape of England. Adversity in life has the effect of turning up unexpected and undeveloped parts of our lives. It releases qualities we never knew we had. It enriches the soil of life. It releases the graces implanted in our new nature and gives them both room and occasion for expression. Without the blitz of sorrow we might never see the flowers of grace.

—From Colossians by Roy L. Laurin