But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matthew 5:44-45
l don’t believe in silver linings. I used to, but that was before I was diagnosed with MS two months after Glen was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Chronic illness causes you to rethink much of what you took for granted. Things happen in life-illness, car accidents, job loss, death, financial problems and more. Things that we don’t plan on. Things we don’t deserve. I also don’t believe the cliché, “Everything Happens for a Reason.” No, everything happens, but often, there is no reason. We seek wise counsel, chose carefully, and do what’s right, but bad things still happen. Both to good people and to bad. And good things happen to good people and to bad. Like the Bible says, “It rains upon the just and the unjust.” The world can be a random place. No matter how much I researched, asked questions, prepared, stuff just happens. I also don’t believe that when one or three or a hundred bad things happen everything else will be smooth sailing. There have been a lot of things that could turn us back toward home. We don’t write about them all, but the flat tire on the first day, the dogs’ disagreements, the broken toilet, parks closed and of course the big bugaboo-Covid 19. Getting my MS infusion last month was a struggle no matter how far ahead I made my appointment. Poor Lark even got her ear caught in the truck window when Glen was rolling it up! Lots of blood and hair loss, but she’ll be okay. Not to mention the $400 worth of food we had to throw away for lack of refrigeration! On Facebook, some friends teased me about renaming Big Dogs Road Trip, Farty Dog Fiasco. Glen and I have started feeling like something bad is chasing us. We keep looking over our shoulders and even worried that the new trailer would be wrecked on its way to us. Every morning, I rush to brush my teeth to see if I can still taste. As careful as we were in the trailer, we are now exposed. It would be just our luck that one of us gets sick now that we are living in a petri dish and depending on others for our food. Bottom line is that sometimes, things just happen because of the world that we live in. There comes a time for many of us that we must shrug our shoulders and accept that we don’t know why. I prefer to use the phrase, “Making lemonade out of lemons.” I don’t think every cloud has a silver or even a black lining. But, lemons, now lemons are real. What I do with the lemons is up to me. Great tasting lemonade doesn’t come without effort. Lemons must be squeezed and mixed with the right amount of sugar and water. Lemonade doesn’t naturally form on its own. Neither does my attitude. Stuff happens. In this crazy, mixed up world, how I respond is all that I can control.
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