Why is Life Hard?

Being on an LDS mission in Tennessee I've come in contact with numerous amounts of people from vast ranges of society.  I've been in homes who hold the humblest family circumstances within in their walls.  I've met people who call the cold, damp sidewalks of downtown Nashville their bed for the night.  I've also been in superfluous sized mansions adorned with furniture, paintings, and all sorts of decorative pieces.  I've seen the happiest of families where suggestions of hardship would never be realistic.  On the opposite end of the spectrum I've seen broken families that are deeply wounded by the greatest trials.  What has given me the most thought and intrigue the last couple days is why is there such a difference in the lifestyles of people.  Why are some happy while others are miserable?  If we are truly all sons and daughters of the same God, then why is there so much imbalance in the world?
What I've really come to understand is that this life isn't judged on what we have or how high we reach in society's eyes.  This life is the time for us to prepare to meet God.   It's a time of testing and tribulation that molds us into who we are.  It prepares us and gives us the opportunity to learn and grow. Although people are born into very different circumstances they all have the same purpose in life.  I can't exactly say why all of us are born into such different walks of life or why some of us have to endure hardships that make other trials seem minute.  I don't know why people seem to have ease in their life and why some have to suffer tribulations that compare to that of Job's, but I can tell you this: That those who are born into such circumstances are placed there for a reason.  They have something to learn and those trials have a purpose.  God does not place us in any situation that we cannot pull through.
I honestly believe that God gives certain people more on their plate because they are stronger and He knows they can bare it.  If you are a person who feels like you are carrying burdens too heavy for yourself, remember who already carried your burdens.  God trusts you to handle these trials.  He
knows you and knows you can get through this.  Our Heavenly Father is not a god comparable to any connotation of meanness or injustice.  This life seems so unfair sometimes but I promise that in the end it will all be made fair by the Savior and Redeemer of us all, even Jesus Christ.  Although blessings might seem unapparent where we are now, for all those who live and embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ, blessings are in store.  They might not come tomorrow, or next week, or even in this life at all, but they will come.  Embrace what God has given you and have hope that all will be well.  Look to the future and know that God will make everything right in the end.  Although I can't completely answer why some people have heavier trials than others, I know that there is a reason and God knows that reason.  We all have the same purpose but each of us have a different paths tailored for our needs.   Know that all trials and tribulations will pass and the blessing will come.  I know that God loves each and every one of us.  He knows us and when we look to Him and embrace His gospel that all will be well.