As most of you know, Facebook reminds us daily of memories.  They pop up what happened to us on this day X years ago and sometimes they come at the best possible time, sometimes the worst.  Sometimes, as I get more tinsel in my hair, I look at them and think, “Oh shoot… where was that?  Who is that?” 

This past weekend, Facebook popped up the memory I’m sharing here from three years ago.  I again felt like an outsider looking in at a girl I barely know trying desperately to remember what she was worried about that morning.  Can you remember what you were worried about a year ago, let alone three?  If we’re not worried about it anymore, does it matter? 

I was brought back to that place of sadness that had become so familiar then when my joy was stolen for weeks at time.  Even the simplicity and beauty of my favorite tree and the sunrise behind it had become almost invisible to me most days as I drove on by.

I thought about her a lot today and if I could go back to then, I would have grabbed her and yelled “Girl, suck it up because I’m here to tell you the future is going to be so good!  In three years, life is going to be amazing!”  and, “Girl, do what you have to do to make tomorrow better so we can get there faster!  What’s the hold up?!”   I wish I had told her,  “You’ve had the power to find happy in you all along.”  

However, the Big Guy’s timing is so much better than Facebook and on this same weekend, I opened my little daily devotional and saw one of my favorite verses, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perserverance.”  James 1:2-3.   As that verse crossed my page, the today me said wow!  That means three years ago was not the time to have said those things to that girl!  She was facing those days of trials but the faith of that girl is what developed the perserverance in this girl.  I stand here today having perservered because of her!

Who is to say that the trials of that very morning three years ago aren’t the very ones that got me to this place today?    

Who is to say the trials you are going through this very day aren’t preparing you for the day you will look in the mirror and say, “Dang girl (or dang boy!), look at you, you perservered!”  The key is not letting go of your faith, not letting go that there is hope, reminding yourself that this too shall pass, and not forgetting that you’re in this battle today so you can perservere and win the war tomorrow….  you strong, bold, brave, wonderful human.  You will perservere if you just hang on! 

I promise, this girl has seen it happen.