As we laid in bed and I started reminiscing about the year I just had, I felt a sense of warmth that I very rarely get to experience. I was grateful that I have you by my side - even through what could be my worst moments as a person. And boy, did I have plenty of those recently. I dare not celebrate yet, though. Too often have I been given everything, just for it to be taken away the very next instant, so I will bide my excitement until the very end. Could it happen, though? Could this year, despite the challenges and downward spirals, still be the best year I ever had? Or maybe it will be the greatest, because of all those dreadful moments that I had to overcome? I will stop thinking about it now. I'd rather take your hand in mine, just for a few more minutes, and pretend like this is all that really matters.
Adversity is like a strong wind. I don't mean just that it holds us back from places we might otherwise go. It also tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that afterward we see ourselves as we really are, and not merely as we might like to be. But if everything was always smooth and perfect, you'd get too used to that, you know? You have to have a little bit of disorganization now and then. Otherwise, you'll never really enjoy it when things go right. Remind thyself, in the darkest moments, that every failure is only a step toward success, every detection of what is false directs you toward what is true, every trial exhausts some tempting form of error, and every adversity will only hide, for a time, your path to peace and fulfillment.
