In life sometimes we hit some road blocks that are unexpected. This usually provides us with an opportunity to sharpen a skill that we may not have utilized too frequently.  When these life events come at us, we usually find ourselves somewhat vulnerable to the situation.  Although we know in our hearts that things cannot always be perfect, if you live long enough you will understand that there are these periods when the wind seems to be let out of our sails.  When these things happen, one of the details that we sometimes fail to realize is that other people have either gone through the same thing or happen to me in the middle of the same storm, it just may be occurring in a different location.  Time can feel like it may be moving at a snails pace during these periods.  These opportunities when they arrive can provide us with another example of how much we have in ourselves to push through a challenging situation.  Our wisdom allows us to review a mental catalog of circumstances that we have either been in before or perhaps we are able to recollect someone near us that may have gone through a similar situation. In either case, one begins to develop the appropriate strategy in order to figure out the proper way to address this.  Our faith is also what can carry us from one dilemma to the next.  Because some of us believe that we are never alone in our journeys, we can find comfort that our faith tells our hearts that things are going to be okay.  When I was thinking about these ideas earlier, I was reminded about a snow storm that I happened to drive into and yes it occurred in Southern California.  I was driving in the mountains east of San Diego on a late afternoon, when for the very first time in my life I found my self heading down a mountain with swirls of snow coming at me.  Although initially I was excited to see this, my feelings quickly changed as weather grew more ominous and my car tires began to lose some traction.  None of us in this part of the country can ever be prepared for something like this.  However, when I got to the bottom of that mountain in midst of this large storm, a dump truck arrived that almost magically appeared after a freeway exit and began to drop salt on the road as it headed out in front of me.  I recall that I could not believe my luck and as I would later realize that my Higher Power, was fully in control of that particular situation that I could have never gotten myself out of.  Hence, if you find yourself in a quandary, remember that your wisdom and your faith can provide comfort to you as your issues may only be of a temporary nature.  Soon enough you will see the silver lining in the clouds above you and you will be able to look back at yet another challenge that you were able to master.