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And throughout the remainder of his life his experiences included:
To be rarely allowed to be human, being forced to be always the one who bore the responsibility of comforting others.
To be rejected and treated with disdain and lack of respect by his family (bar Ruth).
To go before a court of law and experience the travesty of justice.
To be a victim, but perceived as a perpetrator.
To die an ignominious death, in incredible pain, fatigued, alone, with his life goals apparently shattered, and unachieved.
To never have a home or a place of retreat from adulthood until his death.
To know disappointment, tiredness, and frustration.
And yet he lived a life of joy! He never summated his experiences, or viewed himself as being cursed in some way. And, perhaps because of his disposition, and most certainly because of his short life, he was never ill.
In those facets of his life where he had control he was able:
To have the satisfaction of a trade and be permitted to work at his trade in both a professional and perfectionist manner.
To enjoy going fishing, gardening, going for walks, and working with animals.
To have the opportunity to travel, meet lots of people, and enjoy spending time in their company.
To play with children
To have quiet times
"Jesus portrayed the profound surety of the God-knowing mortal when he said: 'To a God-knowing kingdom believer, what does it matter if all things earthly crash?' Temporal securities are vulnerable, but spiritual sureties are impregnable. When the flood tides of human adversity, selfishness, cruelty, hate, malice, and jealousy beat about the mortal soul, you may rest in the assurance that there is one inner bastion, the citadel of the spirit, which is absolutely unassailable; at least this is true of every human being who has dedicated the keeping of his soul to the indwelling spirit of the eternal God." (1096)
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