That which seems evil, is it a cloud to bring rain, to bring a greater good to the whole of the world? Who would ever know the greater graces of comfort and perseverance, mercy and forgiveness, patience and courage, if no shadows fell over a life? I dare flip the cue card over and I make out the words on the backside, "See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal" Deuteronomy 32:39. I nod. I know. I know. And these truth words reconfigure the battlefield under my feet . ---From the Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts I love this quote from Ann Voskamp. She has a way with making sense of difficult circumstances and pointing us back to scripture to ground our thoughts and feelings. Never in my life have I experienced so many hard goodbyes in just one year. And never have I heard the words so often, "I'm so sorry for your loss." Never have I ...