Saturday Sharing Words of Wisdom....

We have all had those moments...those moments that define us.

What is yours?  Divorce, death, loss of a job, a mean spirited friend?

Mine was loss of a child, but prior to that I had experienced divorce which I thought was a death of sorts.  It seemed like a death to me.  One day I was in a book store, which I often used as my "get away" from life. I found a book called "The 10 Most Devastating Things That Can Happen In Life."  I picked up the book curious about what the list would hold.  I discovered that I had experience 9 out of 10 of those lovely situations that most don't deal with.  My first thought was to feel sorry for myself, but then I thought about how much those situations had taught me.  While i don't wish any of those things on anyone and certainly don't wish to repeat any, I have learned from them.  I have had the opportunity to lend words of comfort to  another mother suffering the lost a child, I have had the opportunity to tell people left by their spouses that life had more to offer them and they would be ok, I have been able to tell my friend when her husband lost his job, that this was his time to re-evaluate and decide what he really wanted to do with his life.  It doesn't even have to be something that drastic.  It could just be an angry client, or an order gone wrong or a child struggling in school.  Or it could be even more serious...like dealing with cancer or some other sickness. The list goes on and on, but the essence is this...when you have experienced hardship you can either chose to use what you have learned to help others or you can waller in your own self pity.   Life is hard, but if we embrace the hardships, we get an education from the "school of hard knocks", which is unequal to any other in life.  It is when we are in the valley, that we truly grow...It makes us better people.  So the next time life throws you a curve ball, instead of feeling down about it, try to ascertain the lesson to be learned.  I can promise you, it will be a lesson you will use in the future in a way you wouldn't be able to understand in the present, but mark my words, it will come in handy if not for yourself for someone around you.  We learn from our hardships that we can survive anything and that's often just what  someone who is walking in pain needs to hear.  Wisdom from hardships survived, are gifts we can give to others to help them in their journey and that beats a gift with a bow any day. 

Enjoy your Saturday!