Joy and Sadness

School officially started for us today like I mentioned, and I also realized that it is the beginning of the Fall sports...especially Football. I read this article from a man who played football and went on to say that many of the lessons that he learned from those days and from his mother. I thought it was a good reminder for me because I am struggling with my pain tonight. I actually had Joy at first, because it was beautiful weather and my granddaughter was over for a visit and I worked on the yard. I don't do that very often and it shows, but I really wanted to do it tonight. We had a wonderful time, she played in the dirt and the Pumpkin patch and I raked leaves and rearranged the flowers on my porch. The sadness didn't take long to replace the joy, because my body started hurting so bad. Now it is an hour or so later and I can hardly stand the pain in my back and neck and the arthritis in my hands are killing me so.......... I really needed to read an uplifting article like this. This isn't the whole article, it was too long. But I just need to keep telling myself ....Come what may and love it!  I am trying hard to not concentrate on all the things I can not do and remember to be grateful for the ones that I can. Good night dear friends, thanks for your continued love and support.

Joy and Sadness for All  by Joseph B. Wirthlin

When I was young I loved playing sports, and I have many fond memories of those days. But not all of them are pleasant. I remember one day after my football team lost a tough game, I came home feeling discouraged. My mother was there. She listened to my sad story. She taught her children to trust in themselves and each other, not blame others for their misfortunes, and give their best effort in everything they attempted.

When we fell down, she expected us to pick ourselves up and get going again. So the advice my mother gave to me then wasn’t altogether unexpected. It has stayed with me all my life.

“Joseph,” she said, “come what may, and love it.”

I have often reflected on that counsel

"Every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don't sing and bells don't ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

For me, the Lord has opened the windows of heaven and showered blessings upon my family beyond my ability to express. Yet like everyone else, I have had times in my life when it seemed that the heaviness of my heart might be greater than I could bear. During those times I think back to those tender days of my youth when great sorrows came at the losing end of a football game.

How little I knew then of what awaited me in later years. But whenever my steps led through seasons of sadness and sorrow, my mother’s words often came back to me: “Come what may, and love it.”

How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can’t—at least not in the moment. I don’t think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don’t think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.

If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.

Remember..."Come what may, and love it!"