Sometimes looking back can make you appreciate the present

I have begun the process of sorting through things in preparation for our upcoming move. This is always difficult for me, because even though I’m not a ‘hoarder‘, there are things I like to hold on to because you just never know when you are going to need something.

As I was going through the file boxes today, I ran across various things, pictures from my childhood, pictures of our daughters, and some of our grandchildren. Most of these were things that just made me smile. Then I found something I had totally forgotten about, the calendar of what was one of the worst years of my life. It was a year filled with loss, betrayal, and heartache. However, I noticed that I had noted the events of the first week of the next year.  The year that followed brought one of the best years of my life. Do not get me wrong, there were a lot of struggles and painful events in that year as well, but it was the beginning of my life with my husband. I had lost so much the year before, but gained so even more as the dawn of a new year was breaking.

I’m so glad I kept the calendar of that horrible year, not just because it gives me the dates for some very sad, yet poignant moments in my life, but because it reminds me that even at my lowest, I was able to find love. ❤