When I was younger my Mum would always say to me, "God never gives you more than you can handle". When I say I loathed that statement, I loathed that statement. But there is a funny thing about time. As we get older, we grow older of course, but we grow smarter in some cases, we grow wiser in most. I mean, there are some exceptions; we all have that one person we look at and think, they have not changed nor learned one bit, now have they?

But for the majority of us, as we grow older phrases and anecdotes that we are accustomed to hearing from childhood take on a whole new meaning and dynamic. While I may not have loathed all these statements from childhood, I will say I did not fully appreciate their meaning. One such phrase was “All things work for the good of those who love the Lord who are called according to his purpose”.

Now here’s the thing: at face value, it may seem pretty self-explanatory but there is something about age and growing older and wiser and spending time with the Lord, that deepens your faith. This change brings these phrases to life in a whole new heightened way and you really come to understand the true meaning, which truly changes each time your faith deepens. Now if you are not religious, or believe in an organized faith but you are spiritual, you may or may not have experienced the same thing.

Now I hear you saying what if I am not a Christian? While the examples I have given are all based on the bible, there are secular anecdotes that have the same effect such as “sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength”. And honestly, for this to be true, I do believe that you just have to have faith in something.

Faith in God, faith in the universe, faith in yourself, just have faith.

This leads me to my point “the silver lining in adversity and the assurance of faith”. With deepening in faith comes growth and in that growth, comes “the magic” Rhonda Burn’s pun intended. You learn that deepening in faith and belief in something apart from yourself or even in yourself means that ultimately through it all and even in the darkest hour, you are equipped to handle it all and see the blessing in the situation.

You are equipped to have the outcome that you desire since a higher power is in charge and has your best interest at heart. Or if your belief is in yourself, you too have your best interest at heart. This security produces the ultimate gratitude. And looking at the world through the lenses of gratitude allows you to have a deep appreciation for everyone, everything you have in life. It also allows you to count your blessings. Knowing that it could always be worst. But even if it does get worst, it will eventually get better due to the grace of God. You can dance in the rain even in the storm and overcome adversity.