A good modern equivalent for "tribulations"

"rejoice when you encounter hardships!" James
Does that sound realistic? I mean are there people who really do that?
Here's the story:
I went to my first French class this week. It was pretty cool. I've been wanting to learn a language for a long time now and I'm pretty excited about finally doing it. There are about 15 people in my class and there are 10 different nationalities. We had a lot of fun throwing a ball around the room and repeating what the teacher was saying. And I don't mind saying that I'm already a bit of a favorite of the teachers. I was feeling good while I was walking back to my car. So good I bought Sarah some flowers. My good mood lasted about 5 minutes. When I got back to where I had parked I found some other car in my parking space. "Crap!" thought I, "my cars been stolen." (that happens here) It only took me a minute or so to figure that it was probably more likely that it had been towed. So I went to the nearest policeman a block away and started using my new French skills. They failed miserably. My teacher would have been unimpressed. Anyway, he confirmed my suspicion that it was the law and not the unlawful that had made off with my vehicle. Now, oddly enough I had not become upset throughout this entire ordeal (odd because I've been becoming upset a lot lately). I even found it a bit humorous. And I enjoyed being stuck in a large foreign city without a cell phone or a car and needing to use only my (considerable) wits to save myself. What better way to prove myself. But I can't say I "rejoiced in the trials and tribulations" as the king james has it. Mostly what I did was think of how the circumstances would benefit me in some round-a-bout way. I mean I'm glad that I am becoming more patient even in these types of situations and I'm thankful that God is working in me. But the only reasons I could think of to not be pissed off were purely selfish. So honestly I can not rejoice. It was really, really inconvenient. And I was tired. And I didn't want to spend the money to get my car out of hock. And a bunch of other things. So, is not getting mad a step toward rejoicing? Can I do anything that is free of selfishness? This one has me stumped. But at least I got my car back.