10 Things To Remember When Life Turns Bad

CANCER, miscarriages, divorce, betrayal, abuse, trauma, addiction, sleep deprivation, unemployment, flood, theft, fire, and a million other nuances of loss; some of these might be underwritten, but beyond protecting our money we cannot guarantee anything.

There is nothing we can do when truth smacks us right between the eyes; it leaves us punch drunk with stars to boot.

There are probably hundreds of things to remember when life turns bad, but here are ten:

1.     To be a believer in Jesus Christ is to have an eternal hope. Even if we don’t have a terminal condition, there is a rest beyond our present comprehension.

2.     What has happened could have happened to anyone, anytime, anywhere. The potential is ever present. Yet only now we have thought about it because it’s happening now.

3.     If we are not in touch with compassion at the suffering in the world we sure will be now. One of the great outcomes of life, for God, is to get us compassionate enough to be reached.

4.     Our real friends will stick around. This is the true test of our friends. New friends will come to replace those superficial kinds who cannot be there for us.

5.     Time will have a special significance. When crises occur, the plastic thing always becomes time. We don’t waste time when it’s the most precious commodity, ever.

6.     We may never have before experienced what it’s like to see life through the eyes of another person. When life turns bad seeing life through another person’s eyes can prove both a relief and an education.

7.     We are stronger that we ever know. I learned this when I was younger and an athlete. I could push my body far past the limits I’d imposed. Experience has shown me it’s no different mentally, emotionally or spiritually.

8.     Just as life has worked out insanely — as it is right now — life has a way of working out for the good. The problem we have is being patient in the meantime.

9.     The most important things in life can’t be taken away: the person we are and always have been, God, love, and the irrefutable fact that our destinies are assured.

10. We really don’t know much at all; about life, about fate, about the reasons for suffering. But we can choose to accept what we cannot ever hope to change.

© 2015 Steve Wickham.