Just Sharing my Heart with some Hard Truths

What great encouragement Ashley!!
Whenever I see the word "trials" , "sufferings" or "persecuted" my mind goes to our brothers and sisters in Christ that are apart of the underground church that are all over the world. Some many Christians believe this does not exsist. (Not trying to be a "Debbie Downer"). I am so thankful to live in America....the land of the free. We have the freedom to say JESUS in public, we can read our bibles in public, we have many bibles in our homes, we can come together on Sunday and worship Him freely. We are surrounded by opportunities to hear the gospel, to read the gospel and to hear wonderful worship music. We can put stickers on our cars and wear Jesus Freaks T-shirts!! I am thankful! But we can forget about our brothers and sisters that have trials we have never even thought about. Our brothers and sisters are being persecuted as we speak because they have a piece of the bible in their home. My heart breaks and years for them. Yes we have our own trials and when I am going through them, its a big deal to me....but then in a silent moment I think about my brothers and sisters in other countries that are being killed, beaten and burned because they are Christians and then my sufferings are nothing compared to theirs. Yes, I have gone through some tough stuff, but am I being killed for the gospel, am I seeing my husband tortued for the gospel, am I in prison for the gospel?Take time to pray for our brothers and sisters. They know how to " joy in their sufferings".