Where Answers Are Found

When I was in Elementary School,

We used to go on walks,

as a class,

whole laps of the school,

just learning how to walk

in the hall.

The result?

An entire generation of students

who know

how to, successfully,

walk down a hallway.

Congratulations, school system.

What an accomplishment.

Now if you could only

teach us the things

that matter.

Like how to be a better student.

How to succeed in academics.

How to make friends

your first semester of college.

How to mend your own broken heart

when it's been smashed

into seven billion pieces,

and no one else

quite understands.

How to know when

you've been forgiven.

How to fall in love without getting hurt.

How to fall in love,

and stay in love,

and not run away, screaming,

once you realize

that you've fallen

"too far."

Why can't there be a class

on how to forgive others?

Or how to prepare

for the greatest trials

of your life.

How to deal with the presence of death,

an abundance of tears,

and hope so scarce

it may as well

not even exist

at all.

Why isn't there a How-To manual

called, "Regaining Strength When Your Best Friend Disappears Forever"?

Or how about, "Being Flexible in the Most Stressful Days of Your Lives, Because That's When Flexibility is Most Crucial"?

I've been looking for one.

Seriously, honestly,

I have SEARCHED

the available media

for some miraculous

piece of text that would

provide all of the answers.

And at the end of the day,

I came home empty-handed.

And depressed.

I collapsed on my bed,

exhausted and spent,

and I opened the literature

that I have "studied" all my life.

And then I understood.

God loves me.

He put the How-To manual in my hands.

I've had it all along,

the secret to staying strong.

And now,

I know where to look.
And, "Thank you," is
simply
never enough
thanks.