If you look, there's always a Silver Lining......

As a sojourner, my life has been a journey of moving from place to place, seeking meaning and comfort in often unfamiliar territories. Along the way, I’ve come to believe that there is always a silver lining, no matter how uncertain or difficult the road may be.

There is no question; bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people.

As long as we travel this earth, we may never know or understand why.

Throughout my journey, I have learned that if you can set aside (often extreme) emotion for a moment (sometimes, that takes years), you will usually find a silver lining even in the seemingly hardest moments.

Let me share just one example from my journey—among the many that have shaped me.

The one chapter of my story stands out above the rest.

I had a brother (Johnny) who was to be my anchor—my

protector, my confidant, the air I breathed, and the one who made every place feel safe if he was there.

We were very close in age and even closer in spirit.

Just as I reached a milestone goal—my high school graduation— God called him back home.

The loss was devastating. For years I wandered through life with a shattered heart, sometimes battling severe depression, and questioning why such pain had visited me. I pleaded with God for answers, but silence was all I heard. That experience of loss has never left my side. He will be the first thing I look for in Heaven after Jesus.

It wasn’t until probably two decades later, after many miles and many lessons, that answer finally came to me almost audibly from God: “What  do you think I have in store for you, Leonora, that I gave you Johnny to survive your childhood?” And I mean it was almost audible.

Wow! My brother was the gift I needed to survive the hardest, most confusing time in my life.

That realization changed everything. It changed from " Are you a cruel God?, to wow! Thank you, God, for that gift. I saw that even the deepest losses can have meaning and purpose, though it may take a lifetime to see it.

God doesn’t control people; He lets them make their own choices. Are there consequences to those choices? Absolutely, but He doesn't make someone do or not do something; case in point, my father. God didn't control him, BUT he knew he could give me a protector to survive him.

He gave me that gift in my brother. When I graduated and escaped Alcatraz, my brother’s purpose was fulfilled, so God took him home.

How much more blessed can I be than that?

This story is only one example  where hope was hidden behind years of pain and questions. The lesson I’ve learned is this: we may never have all the answers, but if we keep moving forward, holding onto hope, we’ll eventually find the silver lining—even if it’s not the one we expected. That is the wisdom of looking for the silver lining (at least in my life).