Sufferings  foreshadow God’s blessings
A Christian has his cross, his sufferings, that will be laid upon him  by the Lord. Bear, though, in mind, that  these aren’t plain sufferings  that  simply fall upon him and burden him. They foreshadow God’ s  blessings. They are the vehicles through which God’s blessings will  come.
Whoever takes things this way will bear his bur- dens joyfully no  matter how heavy handed or insuf- ferable. When man doesn’t take things  this way, his life is thankless, tough and intolerable. When  the Lord  lays upon us hardship and misfortune and we trustfully and hopefully  take them in our stride, they are lighter to bear.
What man should try to do is prepare himself to receive the grace the  Lord gives. Leave yourself in the hands of God and let God “walk” you  on the path of preparation.
Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos (†)
From the book: Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos, “SPIRITUAL MESSAGES” Panorama Thessaloniki, 2017