Everyone faces bumps in the road along their path in life. They are unavoidable, inevitable; because not every day is going to be a good day. My family has had to endure our fair share of bumps, craters, potholes, speed bumps, road construction, and any other road obstacles you can possibly think of over the past several months. 

Some days it just felt like the obstacles just kept piling up, one after the other, making it seem like we would never get past it. We kept taking care of things as they were thrown at us, praying that we had finally seen the last of it, but then we were surprised with another difficult feat. It felt like we were turning along a bend in the road, thinking we would end up in the clear around the corner, but just found more hindrances in our path. 

It really tested us — our endurance and our strength. 

We were forced to buckle down and take on the difficulties head first, as hard as it was. 

Some days, we just felt like quitting. We felt like we would never get ahead, but we kept forging on. 

But through all of the struggling, and the questioning of “Why me?”, we feel like we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Like we are closer to putting the hardship behind us. 

I saw a quote the other day, and shared it with a group of writers whom I work with. 

“Not all storms come to disrupt your life; some come to clear your path.” 

And the quote is true. I may not have realized it at the time, but perhaps this storm wasn’t just testing us and pushing us to our limits, but rather clearing our road of all the obstacles and repairing it. Perhaps all of the hardship was paving the way for bigger and better things for all of us. 

The absence of the light is the necessary part before we see the dawning of a new day. 

Through all of the hardship, I felt that I was reminded of how much I love my family, and how grateful I am for them. I would do anything for them, and will always stand by their side and hold their hand. 

The terrible and frightful storm that we endured cleared the path to better and stronger relationships with my family, and has made us closer than ever before. And it has made me appreciate our relationship. 

Even though it has been a rather trying few months, I’ve realized that if we can make it through this rough patch and see it through to the end, then we can overcome anything. 

And things are on the up and up for us, as we are truly finally seeing the clearing. There is nothing but clean, even, open road ahead of us, with the sun just peeking above the horizon. 

This hardship has shown me that my family is strong and mighty, and we never give up. Life may be tough, but so are we.