“Difficulties may challenge mediocrity and defeat the fearful, but they only stimulate the true children of the Most Highs.”  [UB 556:07]

Teacher Uteah: “You are wondering what to bring to Me for display on the walls of your virtual gallery.  Last week, your daily fare seemed to consist more in lowlights than highlights, making you doubt that you have anything of value to contribute to show-and-tell.  Keep in mind that much good can be extracted out of personal challenges.

“After weathering another grueling life storm, where do you stand today?  Did its violence bring you down to your knees begging for mercy or did it deliver in its wake some precious morsels of enlightenment?  After recovering from its blows, did you put your thinking cap on to sift through the scattered debris in search for vital clues?

“Let us use a metaphor.  If someone brought you a canvass defiled by a nasty spill, would you discard it, deeming it unworthy of restoration, or would you go over every inch of its surface with a magnifying glass to devise a meticulous but doable ‘restoration strategy’ and salvage the whole work of art?

“Each life is original artwork.  By contrasting its shadows with the light shining through their cracks, a poignant composition emerges.  Without the application of a dark wash, it would not be so striking.  The vicissitudes of your life act as the backdrop against which your beautiful ‘heart-titude’ stands out, taking the spotlight.

 “So, most assuredly, you can display such painful memories in your gallery as a testimony for your resilience and the emergence of your shining persona.  Didn’t the poet Dante depict the Inferno in a thought-provoking epic poem?  As long as the darkness of the ‘before’ is paired with a much brighter ‘after,’ it is a worthy endeavor that will infuse much hope onto the beholders—those who can personally relate to what you went through and are dealing with their private restoration projects.”