Let me start off by saying that it feels so good to be sitting behind my laptop in the comfort of my own home.  I never realized how much I truly enjoyed blogging, reading other blogs, and participating in online book clubs until my laptop was stolen.  It is true that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy.  He tried to take the one thing that brings me joy as well as my means of communicating to an online world and helping those in need.



As I was in Best Buy today shopping for a new laptop, the sales guy suggested that I purchase a product to ensure that if my laptop is stolen again, there is a means to have it recovered (90% recovery rate).  That would have been useful for my prior computer.  A valuable lesson learned which leads me to my next point. 



Wikepeida describes the coined phrase “Hindsight is 20/20” to be a “perfect understanding of an event after it has happened; – a term usually used with sarcasm in response to criticism of one’s decision, implying that the critic is unfairly judging the wisdom of the decision in light of information that was not available when the decision was made.”



Hmm….don’t I know this to be true!! 



So where was that helpful sales guy when I bought my other computer?  It would have been nice to have this software so it could be doing its job as we speak!  This has me thinking of what other failures could have been prevented if we had all the needed information upfront?



In looking back, it seems as if some lessons are not to be prevented.  In my own belief, sometimes God allows us to experience things and get a taste of what it is like to experience loss, heartache, and failure so we are more equipped to help other hurting people.  Those experiences remove the blinders and give us a clearer picture of what the world really has to offer. 



C.S. Lewis once said, “Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn.”  I am learning, again and again, that life is full of dips and valleys.  But those valleys prepare us for a place where we can excel into something even higher.  They bring us closer to God who is truly good and gives us a better understanding that His word is unfailing. 


So to keep up with my theme of “hindsight is 20/20”, I leave you with this provoking yet profound thought.  “Looking back…I have learned that the wilderness is part of the landscape of faith, and every bit as essential as the mountaintop. On the mountaintop, we are overwhelmed by God’s presence. In the wilderness, we are overwhelmed by His absence…. Both places should bring us to our knees; the one, in utter awe; the other, in utter dependence.” (Dave Dravecky)


Love in Christ,
Nichole