When I was in my freshman year of college, I was seeking God’s will for my life. The college had a special missions emphasis week, and during that time the Lord made it very clear to me that He wanted me to serve Him as a cross-cultural missionary.

November typically has me meditating on what I’m thankful for, and this year I’ve been especially struck by God’s provision for my library’s collection—not just in the last few months, but throughout the past twenty years.

Is it God’s will for us to be miserable? No. It is not God’s design, will, or intent for us to be miserable. He does not delight in our pain. He certainly did not delight in the suffering of His own Son on the cross. Neither did Jesus want the suffering that bearing the weight of sin would cause Him (Matthew 26:39).

I was the child who struggled to fit into the “norms” of society. My mother called me stubborn and contrary because I was not who she wanted me to be. I was not being rebellious at the time (that came later); I was just different. She pictured a well-dressed, prim and proper little girl; I was barefoot and climbing trees.