Two things:

One. I've always had an issue being really down on myself. I've pondered the verse that says loves your neighbor as yourself. That's hard to do when you don't love yourself. Although I've made a lot of progress in this area over the last few years, something profound happened the other day. I was driving along and thinking something negative about me. Something like, you were stupid to do that. What were you thinking? God stopped me. He told me, don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to someone else. That's stopped me in my thinking footsteps many times already. This will change me.

Then, a few days later as I was pondering this He told me, don't think anything about someone else that you wouldn't say to Me. wow. I need to change. Profound.

Two. As I was driving home today I was thinking of what a rough year it's been. Not only for us, but for many others I've talked to. I was thinking through a list of all the difficult things that have happened this year when it hit me that God has been no farther away through all of this. Then I realized that no bad thing came from him. It hasn't been a bad year because of him - it's everything else. He's still been faithful, loving, right nearby. He's been good and kind. He's answered prayer. So, it's been a hard year. But it hasn't been so because of Him. In Him, it's still been good.