I remember the bad……… and it helps
When you are knocked to your knees by things you didn’t see coming or that you were unprepared to handle, don’t let that fate become your future.
There have been times when, looking back over the year, I’d “count my many blessings and name them one by one.”
Not this year. This year I cried. A lot. This year I felt discouraged. Many times. This year I had to keep giving myself a pep talk to “practice what you preach” about gratitude, faith and believing.
Our son has been through 10 months of hell with severe back pain, stomach issues, weird problems with thyroid issues – and he no longer even has a thyroid. If you’ve ever walked with a loved one through such torment, you know it drains you, frustrates and annoys you, because you can’t help. They’re suffering, and because they are, you are. Yes, that’s where I’ve been.
Then I remember the bad…….. and it helps.
“Why?” you might ask.
Because when I remember other bad times and other terrible situations I’ve been through, when I reflect on others’ pain and that they’ve somehow made it, I’m encouraged to believe I can too.
I remember when I was bed-ridden for almost a year, in severe pain, unable to work, clean my house or cook. And yet, even though it seemed to stretch into eternity, I did recover, and returned to work and life.
I remember bad days when my husband seemed to be wasting away in front of our eyes and no one could decide if he had Lyme’s disease or some other debilitating horror. It was a very bad year. However, he came back stronger than ever and now, when others are taking it easy, he bounds up stairs in a way younger men would envy.
I remember my niece hearing those dreaded words, “if you have family. you need to say your good-byes.” That was not a good Easter season. Nevertheless, that same year at Christmas, she gleefully checked off a bucket-list item and waded into the Pacific Ocean for the first time ever.
I remember the bad…….. and it helps.
I saw a quote the other day that read like this: “On particularly rough days, I like to remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100% and that’s pretty good.”
Yes, I remember the bad days. And it helps. I celebrate because life seems even more precious now. When you have bad days or a bad year, remember you’ll get through them. As the old saying goes: “What does not kill us makes us stronger.” Bill Johnson once talked about Faith being both a Gift and a Fruit, and fruit can grow. Perhaps ironically, it seems the prime growing season for Faith is in bad times.
That’s why I remember the bad…….. and it helps.
If this has been a great year of counting your blessings, I celebrate with you! However, if you say, “this was not a good year,” I encourage you to remember: this too shall pass.
When you are knocked to your knees by things you didn’t see coming or that you were unprepared to handle, don’t let that fate become your future. Get back up.
And sometimes if you remember the bad you’ve been through…..it will help.