When I was a young man I worked several years in a sawmill to support my family. It was hard, physical, back breaking work. The building we worked in wasn’t insulated either. I remember how we sweated in the summer and froze in the winter working there. In the winter even with work gloves the skin around my fingers would crack and split. I once used a whole pack of a hundred band-aids there in just a few weeks. At lunchtime we would all go out to the parking lot to eat and get some fresh air in the summer or warm up in our cars during the winter.

One winter’s day my friend and I were sitting in my old car eating our sandwiches and drinking cans of coke. The heater was struggling to keep us warm but the radio was playing a song we liked. My friend looked out the window and said something that sticks with me to this day. He said, “My Dad used to say life was one thing after another so you better enjoy the breaks in between.” We laughed and clinked our cans together. Then we sat in silence and enjoyed watching the snow fall until our lunch break was over.

Since that day I have always done my best to enjoy the breaks in between. I have done my best to love others and delight in those problem free times we all get every so often. But after living almost 60 years here I am finally also starting to enjoy the one thing after another. I am starting to do my best to learn from life’s problems, to become stronger from them, to love more deeply because of them, and to use them to grow closer to God.

Life truly is one thing after another. But each thing can help us to grow better, kinder, and more loving. Know then that what you have is enough. Know that you have everything you need to enjoy complete peace and happiness right now. Know that you can live each day in love and joy not only during the breaks in between but also during the one thing after another.