How to Have Hope When Things Aren't Working Out

My dad is an engineer which means he likes to make sure things are perfect. If he could take a side angle to my life to make sure it was perfectly aligned I'm sure he would. So of course, he loves to come up with tidy little aphorisms for his kids. I got this one recently in my birthday card:

It's always darkest before the dawn

While I'm sure he wasn't the originator of this saying, he did popularize it--at least for me. It's a great reminder that sometimes when things are at their breaking point it actually means a transformation is around the corner. Sometimes when things aren't working out as you planned something even better is in store. Like when clients aren't coming in as fast as you wanted but the bills are still due. Or when a situation is breaking down so rapidly that it's clear there isn't a way to save it. I used to dread these. Now I just remind myself that it can get really, really dark just before really good stuff happens.