Triumphs and Failures

Every life is subject to some of each.  A failure to one person can be a triumph to another.  What God teaches us is to be thankful for both as they are each integral to the spiritual life.  This can be especially difficult to remember when dealing with the negative events in our lives.  During these events, we often feel farther away from God, even abandoned by him and we are angry.

When something good occurs, we have a tendency to forget to thank God for the good fortune, somehow believing that he had nothing to do with it.  Today, I remember to give thanks to God for my mother in law.  She has been waiting to see if she will get a visa to come to visit us and this morning, she was told that she will be given the visa (pending a medical exam).  It will be the first time in her 67 years that she has ever been outside Colombia!  Thanks be to God.