Kristen Milligan passed away  one year ago tomorrow. She was a truly amazing person and my very best friend. One of her favorite verses is found in James 1:2-4 and she referenced it often in her speaking engagements, books, and daily life. This is what it says in the modern day Message translation of the bible:

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

She had many tests and challenges in her 39 years of life, most significantly her 10 year battle with liver cancer. As someone closest to her I can attest that her “true colors” were already impressive before many of the tests and challenges and it was a privilege to have a front row seat as they were refined. God used her vessel, her earthily body, as a powerful instrument of His work. The more broken her vessel became the more his light was able to shine through it.