Dealing with life's hardships: Lessons from Napoleon's letters
Life is hard. Every man has his struggles. I read a book containing letters written by Napoleon to his wife, Josephine, in which he expresses his fears and worries. At one point, he said he was ready to curse his life, but for thoughts of her:
"When I am weary of the worries of my profession, when I mistrust the issue, when men disgust me, when I am ready to curse my life, I put my hand on my heart where your portrait beats in unison. I look at it, and love is for me complete happiness; and everything laughs for joy, except the time during which I find myself away from my beloved.
"By what art have you learnt how to captivate all my faculties, to concentrate in yourself my spiritual existence? It is a witchery, dear love, which will end only with me. To live for Josephine, that is the history of my life."
The thing—the person—that kept him going at this stage of his life was his love for his wife. Love overcomes all things.
Friends, life is hard no matter how you look at it. A car accident might take away the one you love; a job loss may take away your finances. We are surrounded by constant trials, never knowing what tomorrow will bring. Life on this planet is hard.
But one thing that will give us the strength to go through life's hardships is love: to love and be loved. While we don't want to make Napoleon's mistake and make an idol out of our spouses, we want to, instead, live for God. Think of Him, and He will strengthen us to go through the trials.
When we are weary of the worries of our jobs, when we are dealing with mistrust, when men disgust us, when we are ready to curse our lives, let us touch our hearts and remember that Jesus loves us. Look at what He has done for us and who He is to us, and we will find joy. To live for Jesus—that is the story of our lives, the history we want to have.
Love is powerful. We want to show similar love to others—love that will give them courage to face trials, courage to move forward, and courage to live. Love is life; by loving others, we ease their burdens and make life easier.
As I thought on this piece from Napoleon, it brought into clearer focus that the solution to society's many ills is love—genuine love that has its origin in God. The man and woman who have this love are of heavenly origin, and the place they abide will be one full of life, a heaven on Earth for its recipient.
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