A basic rule of life for many who seem uninitiated: shit happens. It's not the fact that shit happens that matters. What matters is how you deal with the shit that happens.
Stay calm. Control what you can. Help others when possible. Ask for help if you need it. Make the best of your situation. Yes, it's going to suck sometimes and you will have some challenges. When you falter pray. Ask God to help you persevere. When warranted ask forgiveness of others and be willing to forgive others their trespasses.
Photo by Scott Dodge©
It bears noting that God isn't in the business of making it all magically go away. Rather, God walks alongside us, even through the deepest and darkest valleys. Essentially, "Paraclete" means one who stands by your side.
It isn't enough for someone (like me) to tell you this (even though I am speaking from my own experience). In other words, it isn't so much that God is with you in some generic and indiscernible sense but how God is with you really and truly. The how is something you must experience for yourself. It is the potential for this revelation that can make these circumstances "apocalyptic." "Apocalypse means to reveal something previously hidden, or unveil something covered. May this be a time of unveiling.
Who knows? Maybe you'll learn what a lot of people have learned: you can grow as a person through adversity. Any new awareness born from this experience comes with labor pains. Time to put some of those cliches people love to post on social media into action or, more realistically to rest. Pious platitudes and exhortations not to worry and be happy wear out quickly. Test your thesis.
One fact remains that flies in the face of all fake positivity: hope lies well beyond optimism. This is a difficult reality to face squarely. Sadly, a lot of what of what flies under the banner of "spirituality" is really just religiously-couched avoidance mechanisms, that is, forms of denial. If you find that statement provocative, spend some time today looking at a crucifix.
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