Did you ever think about that?  The sun still comes up. Every day.  Some days it may be hidden by clouds.  Some days it may be covered with raindrops.  Some days, heaven forbid it, there may even be snow that covers the brilliance of the sun but it ALWAYS comes up.  Without fail.

I was just pondering that fact this past week when I have felt the burdens of several of my friends.  If I could offer one word of comfort to any of them it would be just that fact—the sun still comes up.   No mater how horrible your situation –the sun will still come up.

When I was a teenager and had braces on my teeth I was just not a big fan of going to the orthodontist.  A trip to the orthodontist always meant tightening brackets and wires and a sore mouth for days.  Wires sometimes came loose and poked gums.  Wax had to be placed on the brackets so they would not rub the inside of the mouth raw.  While I loved that my horribly  out of whack teeth would finally be straight and nice looking I was not a huge fan of the pain that sometimes went with achieving that look.

So I managed to come up with a method to get through the pain and dread of having to sit in that chair at the orthodontist.  Our trips almost always included a shopping excursion afterwards.  I saved my babysitting money up for these post appointment trips and thought about what I would find during the excruciating minutes in the chair.  It always helped to think past the pain, past the appointment to the time post appointment when I would be able to enjoy an hour shopping someplace fun.

So if I had to offer advice to any of my friends who are going through a tough thing is is to try to look beyond.  The sun will always come up, there is always hope and something positive is just around the corner.  Just like my time in the orthodontist chair there is something to look forward to after the “pain”.  Focus on that and no matter what your trial may be it may help you to get to the other side with more of a smile on your face than you thought you would have.

We have all had challenges.  Life is just full of them and it is how we come out on the other side of them that shows our character and our faith.  What do you do to get through the challenges that life throws your way?  I would love to hear.