I love my visits with senior adults. Their stories and the lessons tucked into each visit are like golden nuggets of wisdom. On a recent care visit, Mabel and I met Miss Freda. She was in her last stages of cancer and fighting to soak up the precious seconds of each day. When a friend walked by and asked her if she was having a good or a bad day, her answer was, “Oh, Mary, I always have a good day!” And with a twinkle in her eyes, she added, “Every bad thing today can become a good thing if I choose to make it a God thing.”
After hearing that sentence, I knew I needed to hear Miss Freda’s story. Mabel and I settled beside her, and I asked her to describe her life in one word.
“Peace,” she said. Through all her years of losses, wins, joyful times, and dark days, God gave Miss Freda a peace that passes all understanding. She told me peace doesn’t guarantee answers, but it reminds her where she is going and Who she is following. Jesus was woven into every moment of her life, and He made it beautiful. Miss Freda had no regrets or sadness, just thankfulness for the peace He gave her.
“I may be facing the end of my life, but oh, what a life I have lived,” she said.
Most senior adults I meet don’t describe their lives using the word peace, but I could sense it surrounding her. Miss Freda was 
like a beacon of light radiating peace to everyone who was in the room with her. Her words replayed in my mind as I drove to the next care visit. Every bad thing today can become a good thing if I choose to make it a God thing.
My lesson from Miss Freda is that when Jesus is woven into every moment of my story, it flips the script of my life. Even in the toughest of situations, He changes the narrative. Trials and hard days will come, but at some point, they will become my testimony. And in the swirling chaos of it all, there is peace; it’s the main thread woven into the tapestry of my life. I’m not promised all the answers, but I know who walks beside me on the journey, and He has never failed me. That gives me peace.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 (NIV)