First off I would like to thank one of my regular forum members, “MysticSophia”, for giving me the inspiration for this article. This one is dedicated to you!

We have long been taught the values of “good” and “bad”. As little children, when we get a present for our birthday that we have been hoping and hoping for – that is “good”, but when we get punished for breaking Mom’s favorite vase – that is “bad”.

As adults the lines tend to blur a little more. Good and bad are often a matter of interpretation, and really depend on whose viewpoint you are looking from. If your coworker gets the promotion that you have been working and putting in extra hours for; that is “bad” for you, but “good” for them.

Then there are those things that need no interpretation; cancer, murder, rape, a child killed by a drunk driver – those are bad.

But consider this; what would your life be worth if nothing bad ever happened?

If our lives were always roses and sunshine, then how thankful would we actually be for the blessings in our lives?

When I became pregnant with my daughter, my second child, it was horrible timing. My marriage was on the rocks, we were financially unstable, and I had just started a brand new job as a surgical tech. We had not planned the pregnancy; it was a matter of antibiotics vs. birth control. I remember crying like crazy when I did the home pregnancy test and thinking “oh my God, what are we going to do?”

Then about 3 weeks later I started bleeding. Remember, I was a surgical tech, I had done my stint in the obstetrics ward. I knew that that amount of blood was not normal. My husband rushed me to the ER. A very unsympathetic nurse asked me why I was crying and I told her I was afraid I was losing my baby. Her answer was, “well, if it happens, it happens.” Needless to say, she was not my favorite person at the time.

Thankfully I had a wonderful OB/GYN. He said I had a slight abruption (tearing of the placenta) but that the baby looked fine, and with bed rest the tear should repair itself. So I went home and followed his orders to a “T”.

And I gained a whole new perspective about my baby. Yes, it was going to be difficult bringing her up, but I wanted her more than anything in the world. I might not have realized how much I wanted her, had I not come so close to losing her. She is now 11 years old, the most beautiful girl in the world, and one of the joys of my life.

I have been through many other bad things in my life, but looking back on them, I can always find a reason. They have either strengthened me, given me a new appreciation for something, or given me the chance to empathize with someone else and help them.

We need both good and bad in our lives. We need balance. The good keeps us going, the bad gives us strength.

Think of bad times like a vaccine. If there had not been a vaccine against polio, people would still be dying of that disease. Bad things are like that. They inoculate us against worse things to come. They build our emotional muscles so that we may face what life throws at us.

Be thankful for everything good that comes your way, and appreciate the bad as well.