Checking Your Vision

Now I don't want to get carried away with this one, but I think it's important from time to time to look back over our lives and take stock of those very difficult moments, those challenging seasons in our lives, and those times when things didn't go the way we wanted. For those times, we need to be grateful. It is out of those times that we find we are willing to change. It's never easy, and it's never quick, but in those patches of our lives where we struggled, we probably also learned our most endearing lessons.

For instance, and this is not one to take lightly, I am grateful for the two miscarriages that I had and the child that I lost several days after his birth. I would not choose to repeat any of those very hard situations, nor do I like to reflect on the pain from those losses, but without them, I would not appreciate life like I do. I would not understand the miracle of birth and the divinely orchestrated sequence of events that must occur for every single birth. Life should never be taken lightly, and I would not have learned this lesson as well another way.
Another difficult event in my life for which I am deeply grateful, is the time when my husband and I lost everything that we had, financially, and had to start over. Again, I would not choose to go there again, but for that time in our lives, we learned to budget, we learned the value of our family and friends and we learned to know the freedom that comes with less "stuff" in the way. Had we not started over, we would not have appreciated the delicate balance between "have" and "have not." Our faith grew in this time, and we realized the importance of depending on God, not man for our welfare.

These are not easy lessons to have learned, nor do I ever want to trivialize them, but for them, I am thankful. For the tough times, I am glad I have learned something. I have been forever changed by these depressions in my life's journey, but the learning has come in giving thanks for them. The growth comes by looking for that silver lining, all the time. If we only stay in the ditch, then we will only know the ditch. Instead, though, if we look up for the good, and are grateful for the experience, our eyes will see differently and we will know the benefits more fully than the ditch. This takes time and practice, but attitude is the key in this process.

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