A Legacy of Wisdom:

Spring is here again—a season of fresh starts, reflection, and family. I love this time of year, not just for the warmer weather and summer break with my children, but also for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. These holidays now carry deeper meaning for me, as I find myself an orphan at age 48. My father passed away when I was 21. My mother passed just last year.

Now, I spend these days differently—visiting grave sites, remembering good times, and cherishing the lessons my parents taught me not only while they lived but also in the way they died—with courage, grace, and unwavering faith in the transformative power of life’s challenges.

One of the most enduring gifts my parents gave me was their ability to find inspiration in the small things—books, movies, or ordinary moments. They believed that everyday life held messages and lessons, if we paid attention. And perhaps most of all, they taught me how to endure trials.

We all know the feeling when life hits hard—when grief, disappointment, or heartache overwhelms us. The emotions are raw. The tears feel endless. And there’s a hollow space that seems unfillable. While many speak of being both “broken and blessed,” that’s a tough concept to swallow when you’re deep in the chaos. Yet over time, I’ve come to believe what my parents always said: that blessings can—and do—emerge from adversity.

I don’t enjoy pain. I don’t welcome suffering. But I’ve learned that even the worst of life’s storms can uncover hidden strength and insight. As my parents taught me, the goal isn’t to pray trials away but to ask what they can teach us. This shift in mindset—from escape to growth—has changed the way I see life’s hardest moments.

From my parents I learned that:

• Trials reveal who we are. They expose strengths we didn’t know we had and areas still needing growth.

• Suffering deepens our compassion. We become more tender toward others who struggle.

• Hardship teaches reverence for life. Loss makes every moment more precious.

I still wrestle with life’s unfairness. I still have moments where I want to cry out and push the pain away. But the choice remains: become bitter, or become better. My parents chose the latter—and showed me how to do the same.

One of my mother’s favorite stories was the biblical parable of the widow’s mite. She always said it wasn’t just about financial giving—it was about effort, sacrifice, and doing what we can in the moment we’re in. Sometimes, just getting out of bed and breathing is all we can manage. And that’s enough.

On other days, we may feel stronger and able to give more. What matters is not how much we give compared to others, but that we give what we have, with honesty and heart. Some trials demand everything we’ve got—and the widow’s mite reminds us: that’s okay.

T.S. Eliot once wrote,

“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

To me, that means life’s journey—especially through suffering—leads us back to ourselves. And with the right mindset, we arrive with wisdom, compassion, and a deeper understanding of who we are.

As I reflect on the legacy my parents left me, I hope to pass it on to my children:

• That pain can be a teacher.

• That we grow through hardship.

• That we’re stronger than we think.

• That even small efforts matter deeply.

This spring, I invite you to reflect on what your parents taught you—and to consider what kind of legacy you want to leave behind.