Bad days

We all have them. They are a part of life. The question that we should be asking ourselves is not when will they be going away but, what are we learning in the midst of them. Have you ever heard the phrase, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”? There is truth to that on so many levels.

I know of a person who over the last several years had just not had a really good life. According to him there have been glimpses of day light but shortly thereafter to find himself back dealing with issues and pressures that many will probably never have to deal with or understand. He told me that it has gotten to a point now that when he has a good day he almost dreads it because he knows that on the other side of it will be an equally bad day. The question he constantly asks himself however is, “What am I learning from this?” He tells me that in every situation there is a lesson that he needed to learn but the biggest lesson that he is learning is that he is not really in control but God is. I would roll my eyes every time I would hear that but this is what he shared with me…

A few years back his family went through a major health issue, cancer, which almost took the life of his wife but did take the life of his mother. At that same time his financial situation was bleak at best and he almost lost all of his possessions including his house. Just to add insult to injury as his families health was failing and his business was struggling to stay open and he finds out that through an error with his bank his house had the potential of going into foreclosure which destroyed his credit rating and he lost all of his credit. He tells me that at one point he just broke down and cried. He did not like life and really began to feel bad for his kids. Why? Because if his life was this bad for him he could not imagine his kids having to go through this pain and survive.

He then tells me that 15 months later things began to change for no real reason. The bank mailed him a letter and approved his “Making Homes Affordable” application and his family illnesses were getting better. He did lose his mother to the fight but his wife is fine now and his business was saved. When I asked him what he did to get on the other side of these issues all he did was say, “I really did nothing but pray that some people would come along side me and help me through them and every time I prayed… they did.”

At the time I met with him he had just come from achieving another personal mile stone and was very happy with his results. He tells me that when we are happy and have no problems it is easy to praise our Maker but is that real praise or is it selfish and conditional. “Hey God, as long as I am happy and things go my way, I will praise you but if they don’t, are you really in control?” Does this attitude sound familiar? Don’t we all feel that way most of the time? But have we ever learned anything through good times? I know I haven’t.

I just saw him the other day and he tells me that he is now faced with even greater trials. I wonder how God will work him through these and what lessons he will learn while going through them. I can honestly say that as weak as he thinks he is, when many look at him, to them he looks very strong. I can only hope that he gets to the other side of his issues and rejoices at the blessings that have to be on the way. Remember this, for every bad day that we go through there is an equally and opposite effect… a good day.