Before marriage and children I enjoyed posting quotes on my frig.  One of my favorite by Chuck Swindoll…Integrity is keeping your commitment even when the circumstances surrounding the commitment have changed.  Circumstances are a crossroads that make a person choose one of two paths:  character or compromise.  Every time we choose the character path we will grow stronger even if there are seemingly negative consequences. 

Sometimes the character path seems very difficult. I remember a time when  a staff person in an organization lied to support a decision he had made.  We knew the truth but decided to take a higher road and trust in the sovereignty of God.  Sometimes it’s tough not to take matters into your own hands.  The Lord continues to teach me that I can’t control a lot of circumstances in life but I can choose my character. 

The adversity and stress of life does not make our character but it will reveal it. We can achieve success in marriage, ministry, career,etc. but if our character is lacking we are headed for a fall.