Losses and Gains

You shouldn't give up.
Fight for yourself and
who you are. You've got
to go through the worst
times in life to get the best

I just read this on PostSecret.com.  This is one of the absolute truths of life.  The difficult times are the fire that temper us.  We become harder, more resilliant.  The difficult times are also an opportunity for change.  And if used well, those difficulties can produce gifts for you.

The past few weeks a friend of mine has had financial difficulties.  I am not in a position to help, but I know that something good will come from his situation.  It does no good for me to tell him that.  He will have to experience it for himself.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. 

For myself, I have been to the ocean this weekend.  I love the sound of the waves.  There were pelicans skimming the beach.  It is very theraputic for me.  I needed to say my Serenity Prayer.  I needed to come to terms with a loss.

I have been working now for two months on a memior.  The work was going very well, I thought.  Then I touched some button or something and the whole thing disappeared off my flashdrive.  I didn't know that could happen.  My daughter says it is backed up on my laptop some where.  I have thought about it all weekend.  Should I take the laptop to Geek Squad and spend the money to try to find it, or should I accept it as some type of omen and begin again?  I haven't decided yet.