I have been instructed that adversity is one of the greatest signs of God's love for me. It is a blessing in disguise. It is harsh, but the experience is ever-lasting. The last week has brought on some interesting tests for me.
I've worked yet another 60+ hour week. These weeks leave me tired and even irritable. I often begin to feel the stress of not having much time to fulfill my academic responsibilities. I even expressed this concern to an engineer at work. He simply state that he understood that I'm frustrated but that I'm also needed on the job. I've been frustrated as I've received several instructions to complete the same project. I've wanted to quit my job. I've felt the strain as I hear some of the profanities and obscenities flow from the mouths of my co-workers. All this surmounts to the mental, spiritual, and emotional strain of holding back anger and frustration. I feel as though I was standing in a stout position holding a dumb-bell and the Lord added weight to that which I already was holding. Imagine those Olympic weight lifters straining under great pressure. Red-faced, sweating, but still strong men and women lift enormous amounts of mass into the air. I feel some days as though I'm a spiritual Olympic weight lifter. I know that occasionally I drop the weight. Other days I hold it.
Yesterday, as the work day was drawing to a close, I and a co-worker became excited. We worked side-by-side with our foreman. The sky had been dark all day and finally the clouds began to let forth some rain. We kept working. In fact we didn't let up. I worked there, head down (to keep the rain out of my face) and remembered a song by Jenny Jordan Frogley. Some lyrics follow:

I'm standing in the rain, holding up a light
Shining like a diamond against the darkened sky
And though the winds may blow, it will come to an end
and I know that I will see the sun again.

The sun will break through the storm. The emotional storm I was feeling used to be related primarily to my interpersonal relationships. Now it is literally, emotions. Learning to control, direct, and bridle feelings is a battle. Especially when these feelings are in relation to situations involving other people. Luckily for me this battle has moved into the work field and out of my social life.