It is quite the normal experience to have to make sacrifices that we had not envisaged when we accepted a particular post or committed ourselves to live out vows we freely promised. How we react under such circumstances determines whether we live for self or for God and for the good of others. This happens in married life inevitably, sometimes placing one partner under heavy pressure. It happens in military service, in professional life, in religious life. Nobody escapes the challenge to cultivate a higher level of selflessness in order to prove faithful to commitments and to duty.
Examples abound in all walks of life.
The saints' lives abounded in such experiences that they accepted as opportunities to give themselves to God in greater depth of commitment. One abbot I know obeyed even when, against his will, his Father Immediate closed down his monastery and dispersed all the monks. Some years later he himself became abbot of the motherhouse. The parent of a handicapped child is confronted with a trial that tests fidelity and dedication. Those who remain faithful and accepting attain to high levels of selfless love in embracing the sacrifices required to care for their child.