Early Sunday morning, my husband and I were enjoying a cup of coffee together, discussing how 2019 was shaping up to be our best year ever. We’re healthy and happy. Business is good and getting better. Our personal relationship is solid. We’re blessed with the most wonderful friends and family that life could offer. We have a loving church community. And then there’s the knucklehead pictured above, who is icing on the proverbial cake.
One hour later, after dropping my husband off at school so he could get some work done before the students returned, he slipped and fell, breaking his right femur and right elbow. Three hours after that he was in surgery, having a rod and screws installed in his leg, and I was about an hour south, officiating at the wedding of two very special friends.
Our best year ever. Broken bones. Surgery. And a wedding.
When I returned to the hospital, he was recovering in his room, and I said to him that this was still, absolutely, going to be our best year ever. Circumstances, bad or good, were not going to be the determining factor of our current or future joy. Over the nearly 25 years we’ve been together, our rock-solid faith – in God, in ourselves, in each other, and in our family and friends, have combined to create a deep well from which we can draw during tough times.
This is one of those times.
Whether in the personal or business aspects of our lives, we will all have tough times. If you have something deeper, something foundational, then when the lows come they can be taken in stride. If not, you’ll feel untethered, and over time life will become nothing more than a quest to have as many highs as possible, if for no other reason than to avoid the lows. That is an exhausting way to live.
May we all work to strengthen our foundation as we enter this new year, and do what we can to contribute to the foundation of others. We’re in this together, and we’re stronger together.