Sometimes things don't go as we plan. 

Can you relate to that? Some plans never get off the ground, and we are, for the most part, pragmatic about that. Other times things are looking great, big advances are being made, goals about to be reached, rewards ripe to be reaped, dreams soon to be realised... Then comes a reversal...

The worst types of reversals are in our personal relationships. These can crush the spirit and devastate hopes and dreams. They can bring our whole world  crashing down. No financial tragedy, or loss of career, status or property can compare to the pain of these personal reversals. But somehow (nearly always with the help of faith and special people) we survive, gather ourselves, recover, and press on with life. Scars may remain, but there is real hope of new and vibrant health like a pruned fruit tree.

Our reverse this week is relatively insignificant - you can see it above. Wednesday's howling winds exposed my lack of diligence in a spectacular fashion. In our haste and excitement of finishing the frame and getting the plastic on the roof a few weeks ago, I neglected to check that all of the trusses had been screwed to the posts. Some were not... and this is the result. Two weeks work wasted, probably more than two weeks work needed to restore it, metal needing to be straightened or replaced... 

But you know what? I am thankful for it. You might think I'm crazy, but in spite of the inconvenience, the loss, the waste of precious time, etc, I know there is a blessing here somewhere! So I am choosing to give thanks. And I believe that one day, when the time is right, we will be able to look back on all these reversals we have experienced and see what a blessing many of these "curses" can indeed be! 

And we won't want to change a thing...