The Darkest Hour
There are times when the world is just too much. When fate, fortune and the will of man all turn against us and the deck is simply stacked too deep for us to come out ahead. These are times when a stiff upper lip and a drive to push on simply aren't enough. These are times of desperation, of hopelessness and of isolation.
Many turn to their faith, hoping and praying for relief, others reflect within, searching for answers within themselves when none can be found in the world around them. But no matter where you turn or where you look, you always learn about yourself and, in that small regard, our darkest times can be turned into our most valuable asset.
For when we're just going about our lives, we're practically standing still. We're not changing or making any effort to improve, we're simply drifting. With shifts happening over months and years and little idea where we're going, just a vague idea of where we've been, we learn nothing and grow little.
The moments that move us not only change us, but show us the direction that we're heading. For the first times in our lives, we see who we really are, what we're becoming and are given the power to change it. Through the tears, pain and loss comes a sense of opportunity, a chance to rebuild, to improve and to grow.
In the long run, we are defined more by our dark times than the times we were just surviving. Our darkest hours are the ones that cast the sharpest contrast on our life, change us the most and make us who we are.
Though that doesn't reduce the sting of those times when we're in the thick of them, nor is it meant to, it means that there is always hope, a chance for a brighter future and better days. For no destruction takes place without presenting and opportunity for recreation and no dark times can pass without providing valuable lessons and a chance to become something stronger.
