All In Good Time

Another summer is beginning to come to an end. School is starting, the nights are cooling, produce is plentiful both in the garden as well as at the market and the Harvest Moon, in it's yellow-orange majesty beams down on mankind. It's a lovely scene. But in spite of the beauty, all is not necessarily well. Somehow, the trials and troubles that beset us don't always take a clue when they aren't wanted. They stay with us until their time is done.
Because a friend recently asked the age old question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?", I have given extra thought to the querry. There is the obvious, "because it makes us stronger" and, "it builds faith", but into what? To my mind, there has to be more and upon deeper reflection, I have come to this conclusion:
As we experience help from the Lord with our trials our trust increases, turning faith into knowledge. This knowledge grows into greater and greater trust, making it possible for us to completely turn our lives over to God.
So just why should we do this? Because He knows it is the only way to make our harvest complete, and besides, He never asks us to do anything for Him that He is not willing to do for us. How else can we learn to be like Him?