Right after Christmas, I had breakfast with two bicycling friends from Austin. I didn’t think about it at the time, but the three of us, in larger and smaller ways, have all struggled or are struggling with spiritual wounds. One friend’s wife passed away suddenly about a year ago. The other was denied tenure at his university in the cruelest possible way. He was passed by the department and the dean and then denied by the president of the university. He’s still working in the same department as a senior lecturer. Me, I lost an important relationship this past spring.

We talked about a myriad of things. Bicycling. Loss. Continuing forward. Still being angry. Things we hope for the future. The good things about our lives right now. How much it hurts.

I didn’t think about it when I made the invitation, but the one thing I took away from that breakfast was a picture of strength and grace. What I saw in my two friends, dealing with their situations, is how I want to deal with the adversity in my life. I would beg not to be sent that much pain. But if I am, that is how I want to I deal with it.