do you see the full value of your life?

It would be a pretty boring life if every day we woke up to sunshine and laughter. I know, in many ways, for all of the problems that beset each one of us, sunshine and laughter can seem like a pretty good deal. But that is just what I am saying...we need the rough patches to get us to the smooth stretches. We appreciate the better times when we have been through that dark valley...the sunlight then just feels so much better!

Even in my own little circle of family and friends, it seems that we make it through one long stretch of "please, God...make it better!" and everything turns out well, only to be followed by another stretch of..."please, God..." My husband had a spot on his hand that was taken off and biopsied. Sure enough, it was skin cancer. He's had skin cancer before. Ask anyone who has waited for "that phone call" and they will nod their heads. Yes, been there, done that. The waiting is interminable...the outcome, not always so cheery.

My husband is OK now...he caught this one in time. Whew! We celebrated with hugs all around. I gave thanks to God that we traveled this road and came out all the better for it. I realized just how much I depend on this wonderful guy that I married...to be without him would shatter me like fragile glass.

Now it's his cousin's turn...after a fall in which he broke a couple of ribs, it was found that he has spots on his lungs, among other complications. I think about his family who just lost this person's father not even a year ago...I think about the many questions they have, the "what if's" they must be going through. It gives one  reason to wonder why some of us seem to walk through that valley of darkness more than others do. A Facebook friend of mine posted an online prayer just a couple of days ago that said in effect, really, God, he has seen more than his share of pain lately and could He give him  a break for awhile?

I went through a period of time like that back in 1996. In just six months, I lost my sister suddenly, had a miscarriage and lost my sweet grandma. By then I was beyond caring. I was bitter, angry! Yet I prayed, "Lord, help me through this!" and he did, sending me a beautiful person in the form of a spiritual director who helped me to see how wonderful the world is...and that all I needed was someone else to help with the burden of my life at that time.

Look throughout Biblical history and you will find many who felt all alone...Abraham and Sarah...Job...even Jesus, when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane...awaiting the trials that He knew He could not avoid, though He ...yes, Jesus- asked God that "if it were possible, to let this cup pass..." and here is the important part...."but if not, help me to remember ...not My will, but Thy will be done!"

Yes friend....we also need to remember that. When all seems bleak...ask God to walk with you...put your cares upon Him for He cares for you...and remember....no matter the outcome, good always comes from a bad situation. In the case of my husband....as I said, I realized that he is quite special to me. Not that I didn't appreciate him before...but sometimes, it takes something scary to understand just how much we love someone....and that is when we almost have lost them. It isn't when we "win the lottery!" Have you ever heard someone say that? "I never really knew how important he/she was until we won that million dollars!" Ha! No...it's not that...it's when we realize how close we came to losing something that we see its full value.

Today....appreciate all that you have around you...appreciate the many gifts that you have been given. Turn off the social media, the gossipy chatter that you see on TV....focus on God and the goodness He has for you. "Be still...and know that I am God!" Psalm 46:10

Important words, indeed!