Thoughts on Adversity

I love this time of year when the air becomes crisp, pumpkins plump, and nature's cornucopia reveals her amazing colors.  I am fascinated to watch the season's change, especially the change from autumn to winter as the plants and trees prepare for the oncoming months of adversity.  It is the crisp nights of autumn and the shortening days that signal the trees to shut down their food production.  As photosynthesis ceases and the trees rest, the true colors of the leaves are revealed in all their glory.

It is in adversity that our true colors are also revealed as we find out what we are truly made of and whether we have enough stores from the previous summer to weather the winter storms ahead.

Four years ago today, on October 23rd, the storms came crashing in on our family.  We'd just returned from the happiest place on earth the day before.  It seemed like any other normal day after a family vacation.  My husband had gone back to work, the kids had returned to school, and I had spent the day unpacking, sorting, and washing from our Disneyland vacation.  My husband called me just before leaving to come home for the day and mentioned he was feeling a little weird, but by the time he arrived home he was pale faced, sweating, and felt like the weight of the whole world rested on his chest.  After rushing to the emergency room, we learned the astonishing truth, at the age of 39, my husband was suffering a major heart attack.  He had a 100% blockage in his LAD, the artery affectionately known as the widow maker.  Two stents later and with a heart ejection fraction of 20 to 25%, his life hung precariously in the balance, and I was faced with possibility that I might be left alone with five children.

It is when storms like these come that you learn you are stronger than you think you are, and you also gain a deep sense of gratitude for the things that you previously took for granted.  As I watched my husband struggle between life and death for several days in the hospital, knowing that even if he recovered our lives would be forever changed, I had to reach deep down and find strength that I didn't know I had.  There is something about learning that you can weather the storms of life with your hand in God's that gives you the courage to keep moving, to ultimately have the faith that everything is going to turn out alright.  Through adversity you learn that you are made of stronger stuff and you also learn to appreciate every moment of every day because you don't know how many more moments there will be.

Ultimately through faith and prayers, and several miracles my husband regained full heart function.  I've been blessed with four more years with him to watch the seasons come and go. There have been many strong storms to weather, but as I watch the trees burst into color once more as they prepare for the coming winter, I am grateful for the experience of life with all its challenges and opportunities.  With adversity comes growth and strengthened faith and gratitude for spring's blossoms which always come again in due time.