Life will always give us reasons to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve all been through unfair situations, someone mistreated us, doors closed, people let us down, and circumstances turned against us. And it’s easy to think, “If only things had been different.” That voice can sound reasonable. It can even sound justified. But if we are not careful, that way of thinking slowly reshapes how we see ourselves. It moves from something we experienced to something we believe about ours

Because I travel often, especially during the winter months, I have seen this beautiful picture many times. There are days when the sky is dark, rainy, and covered with heavy clouds. From the ground, everything looks gray. It almost feels as though the sun has disappeared. But then the plane begins to rise. Little by little, it moves through the clouds, and suddenly everything changes. There it is—the sun, shining brightly, peacefully, powerfully, as though it had been there

Once in Armenia, I spoke with a craftsman who made duduks, carefully carving them from apricot wood. I asked him how a simple piece of wood could produce such deep and beautiful music. He smiled and said, “By itself, it is only wood. But when a master breathes into it, it becomes music.” The same is true in the spiritual life. What seems small in our hands can become something beautiful and powerful in the hands of the Master. This is exactly what we see in the Gospel. One da