Interpreting the events of life.

Tragedy ain’t always bad.  Because good springs from bad. If only one looks for it. I’ve seen it in my own life. Over and over again. In other lives, too.  I exist because of tragic deaths. My maternal grandparents died early. At young ages. Leaving my mother an orphan. When she was still a teenager. Prompted her into a marriage of convenience. With my father. Really, a mostly loveless marriage. Ended in my father’s suicide. But not until after I was born. Timing. Bad things happening to other people. But lucky for me. Maybe even a blessing. Perhaps intended. As part of a grand plan. I look around me. At my friends. Julie and Rick. They are survivors. Of five years of grueling care-giving. Because Julie’s parents have been touched by Alzheimer’s. They took on the loving task. Of caring for the parents. In their own home.  An incredible feat. The kind that sometimes ruins a marriage. But I suspect that these bad times are bringing Julie and Rick closer together. Into a wondrous strengthening of their marriage. Yes, another example of good springing from bad. From tragedy. Just depends. On how one interprets the events of life. –Jim Broede