Written by a woman who had been captured by Indians and seen her youngest child (6 years old) die a slow lingering death from a gunshot wound and spent several months nearly starving in captivity until she and her remaining 2 children were redeemed:
The Lord hath showed me the vanity of these outward things. That they are the vanity of vanities, and vexation of spirit, that they are but a shadow, a blast, a bubble, and things of no continuance. That we must rely on God Himself, and our whole dependance must be upon Him. If trouble from smaller matters begin to arise in me, I have something at hand to check myself with, and say, why am I troubled? It was but the other day that if I had had the world, I would have given it for my freedom, or to have been a servant to a Christian. I have learned to look beyond present and smaller troubles, and to be quieted under them. As Moses said, “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14.13). (Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, final paragraph)