Building blocks of character

I don't know if you have children that like to build Legos.  Luckily I have a son and nephew that are both fascinated with building them.  It's amazing to see their creativity come to life in those blocks.  I see how patiently and with a lot of effort they build amazing structures.  I also see how frustrated they get when their wonderful creations come tumbling down.
The same is when God is building godly character in us.  Through a lot of effort on His behalf God watches us little by little make strides to change our worldly nature into godly character.  Sometimes in order for Him to build something amazing within our characters He needs to take apart everything within our being that would prevent Him from building something great.  That taking apart process is very painful for us.  We feel distressed, confused and torn.  Keeping in mind that our deserts are a place of hostility, discomfort and great thirst.  These are the deserts we need to cross in order to get to the place of knowing ourselves better and to obtain the strength that we can overcome because God helped us survive our trial.
It is during such times that God begins to build godliness in us, he tears our despair apart and leads us to the still waters He promises during trials.
It is in the lonely place we find Him.  When all else is taken from us and the only thing we have is our hope that He will see us through our desert.
I look back and see how my deserts have changed me, have build patience and perseverance within my soul.  I also see how our deserts sometimes get more difficult to cross but they are necessary for godly character to flourish in us.
"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."
Romans 5:3-5