Maybe it only takes a spark to get a fire going, but how do you keep it going and going and going? We all remember those amazing times when it felt like our faith was on fire—like we would serve God with all our hearts for all our lives and nothing or nobody would ever sway us from our fiery passion and commitment.

Right?

But then things change. Maybe you find yourself living in a new place, attending a new school, needing to make new friends. Consequently, you start feeling like you don't know who you are anymore, like you've lost your identity or are simply lost in the crowd.

Life throws all kinds of crud at us—hard stuff that seems destined to knock us off our spiritual feet. Sometimes it's hard to appreciate that these trials and obstacles are actually meant to be good things—meant to strengthen us and grow us up.

Even though James 1:2-4 makes it clear that we're supposed to greet our trials as friends, it can be pretty challenging to actually do. Honestly, how often do you feel like welcoming tough times like you welcome good buddies? Like you really want to say, "Hey, come on in, sit down, make yourself at home!" Yeah, right.

Trials feel more like those irritating sorts of friends—the obnoxious ones we might tolerate for a few minutes or even pretend to like, but we're actually hoping that they'll just keep on walking. Adios, amigos.

I remember feeling like that the first time I lived away from home. I was fresh out of college, living halfway around the globe and sharing an apartment with three other women I'd never met before.

We were all short-term volunteers working on a foreign mission field. While two of these women were delightful, the third one was something else. Seriously, this chick was so pushy and rude and aggravating that I'd heard about her before I even arrived in the country. Naturally, I had no clue that I would end up having to share a household with her.

This young woman, whom I'll call Trisha, was truly obnoxious. In my opinion, she had been spoiled rotten as a child, possessed almost no social skills, was extremely self-centered and arrogant, and was generally disagreeable with everyone.

After just a few days, I didn't see how I could survive a whole year of living under the same roof as her. I actually questioned whether or not she was really a Christian. There were times when I felt like I was shackled to the devil and I wondered if I would ever be free of her whiny voice, critical spirit and judgmental ways. Yet I was supposed to be a "strong" Christian who loved everyone. Yeah, right.

At first, I was shocked that I could feel this way about anybody. How was it that one of my roommates, just an ordinary girl like me, was making me so totally miserable that I was actually questioning my faith and whether or not I could put up with her for a year? What kind of a Christian was I anyway?

But God really does work in mysterious ways. As the year progressed, I began to understand that Trisha was part of God's plan for changing my heart, for growing me up into a person that was more like Him.

Despite all my internal griping and complaining, I began to see that Trisha was really good medicine for me. Okay, sometimes good medicine tastes bad, but I began to see that if I could learn to love her, I could learn to love anyone. I also began to see that I could never learn to love Trisha on my own.

I can honestly say that by the time I finished the year and was ready to go home, I really did love Trisha. I even got to know her well enough to discover that her life hadn't been as sweet and easy as she'd originally portrayed.

So, what's the point of my little story? God uses hard and challenging stuff to keep our faith on fire. When you head off to college and you start to feel a challenge or trial or unwanted change strutting into your life, remember what it says in James. Welcome this hard time the way you would a good friend—a friend who has come to fire up your faith.

Then, trust God to carry you through it. Trust me, if you're serving God, there will be plenty more "friends" coming your way.