A dear friend of mine died yesterday. Tragically.

I was looking back through our texts, and the last message he sent me was simple:

“There’s a lot of goodness happening.”

He knew a lot of heartache. Betrayal. Pain. Hardship.

But he still found the goodness.

He did more than find it. He let it drive his life. He made it mean something.

Because he knew what a bad day really meant, he chose to embrace the good ones. Appreciate them.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot.

If the weather is great every day, eventually it isn’t really great. It is just what you expect. We need contrast in life.

Of course, we want pain to end while we are in it. But pain gives us a frame of reference for pleasure, the same way heartbreak changes how we experience love and betrayal makes us stop taking loyalty for granted.

None of that makes pain good.

But sometimes what hurts us also gives us the perspective to recognize the goodness, appreciate it and allow it to take hold in our lives.

He did that.

Right now, it is hard to see much goodness. I really miss him.

But he was right.

There’s a lot of goodness happening.