When the Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff first visited America he was amazed at the huge variety of instant products available.’On my first shopping trip,’ he said, ‘I saw powdered milk – you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice – you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to my self, what a country!’ Smirnoff was only joking, of course, but it makes me think about how accustomed we are to instant results that we assume the same is true for personal growth. But, there is no such powder for it.
People who are truly great souls are raised through trials, suffering, and temptations. There’s no easy way to spiritual growth. But there is the endless grace of God and presence of Jesus that’s always there to pick us and help us on our way.