even when

Last night Jess and I stayed up well past two discussing some of life's difficulties. It was one of those honest, raw, frank conversations that tend to happen late at night and that bring out the human in all parties involved.

"You know," I said after I'd finally crawled into bed and arranged my forty-nine (slight exaggeration) pillows, "sometimes life is really hard."

Jess was quick to respond. "Life is always hard."

And she's right. She wasn't being pessimistic (Jess is one of the most cheerful and optimistic people I've ever met); she was just being real. Because life really is always hard. The level of difficulty varies from day to day, month to month, season to season, but nothing is every perfect. Nothing is ever smooth sailing. There's always going to be some bump in the road. Sometimes that bump is as small as having a tricky paper to write and sometimes it's as big as serious illness, but there's always going to be that bump. No matter how righteous and selfless and giving and faithful you are, life will never be perfect.

And that's okay.

Even when there is no sun visible on the horizon, there are friends and family to light up your life and guide you through the shadowy wasteland.

Even when work and stress are piling higher and higher at an impossible rate, there are study breaks and candy canes and YouTube videos that make you laugh.

Even when it feels that your world is crumbling, there's the Savior and the gospel to bind wounds and fix cracks and piece everything back together again.

Even when fear and insecurity settle in and threaten to overcome you, there's prayer to help strengthen you and people in your path to comfort and reassure you.

Even when you can't seem to find a single positive thing in life, there's peppermint ice cream and electric blankets and toddling babies and soft pillows and the smell of laundry detergent and warm socks and late night laughter and a million other tiny happies waiting around the corner.

Even when you fail or fall down or disappoint, there's always another chance waiting for you to take it.

Even when today is unbearable, there's always tomorrow.

I can't pretend that I'm a master at maintaining this attitude. Anybody who's ever met me recognizes that I'm not one of those naturally cheerful, bubbly, optimistic people. But I am a person who is making a pointed effort to adopt a more positive attitude and to always find the good in bad days.

Because I truly believe that even though life is hard, there is always something to be grateful for. There is always something good. And I for one, want to find that good.