Trials are sent to some so as to take away past sins, to others so as to eradicate sins now being committed, and to yet others so as to forestall sins which may be committed in the future. These are distinct from the trials that arise in order to test me in the way that Job was tested. (Maximos the Confessor).

If Maximos had chosen a passive verb - perhaps "trials can serve so as to take away..." - I would have very little to say.

The middle English source of trial means to sort, to sift, or to separate. The choices we make to resolve (or not) our struggles are fundamental to the discovery and crafting of self. The relationships forged in the midst of struggle are often the strongest and deepest of all. In our individual lives, in our families, communities, and beyond we encounter gaps between what is and what might be. We can endeavor to narrow the gap, bridge it, or fill it. Or we can widen the gap into a chasm.

God's architecture does engage the tension between objects, between options, and between free creatures. But God does not send trials and tests. God has demonstrated, again and again, how the architecture is optimized through mindful and mutually supportive relationship. The architect's clear intention is for us to make choices whereby each of us, all of us, and the architecture is able to thrive. Fortunately the architecture is sufficiently resilient to survive neglect and abuse.