Mary Ann
One of my favorite sayings is “As Thy Day so Shall Thy Strength Be.” It is a Bible verse from Deuteronomy (33:25) that I recently discovered the origin. I should have known with the Thys and the Shall. It has gotten me through some really challenging times. It is like the quote, “God only gives you what you can handle.” Life is hard, and there are always going to be tough times.
However, everything in our lives that challenges us is not always a problem. For the most part it is an inconvenience, not a real problem. Real problems are like the wildfires in Los Angeles or a cancer diagnosis or a loss of a job – how are you going to pay the bills? These are real problems, real worries.
Often, we call the daily inconveniences that we face, problems. Traffic jams, phone calls that should be one yes or no answer that take 10 steps to get to it, the wrong order at McDonalds, and on and on. There is a big difference between a rainy day and a hurricane.
I try to remember the difference as I go about my life. In the past, no matter what the problem or inconvenience was in my life, my father would always say,” it is all going to be okay, and it was. I always felt better when he said those words to me, a healing balm.
I was recently watching Shrinking on Apple TV+. It was episode 4 of Season 2. The show was centering on problems of the various characters. Near the end, neighbors Derek and Liz were sitting on the patio with the other cast members. They were talking about the very comment that my father would make. Liz asked Derek to do The Special for Brian. Derek sat down and told Brian to look into his eyes and then Derek said, “Whatever it is, everything is going to be okay.” There were a few tears. There is magic in those words just as they had been for me when my father said them to me. I guess there are many fathers who say that to their family members.
I try to say those words to my children, but I somehow do not have the gravitas that my father’s words held. Maybe they mean more than I realize. Maybe they won’t mean as much until I am gone. Then they will have to pass it on to their friends, children, or other relatives.
There is a magnet, card, and a pin by Quotable Magnets that says, “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it is not the end.” – Unknown. Maybe we need to all put that on the refrigerator to remind us that most problems will be resolved, and most are just inconveniences.
Silver Sage Sisters 