Adversity

​Merril and I were getting Netflix.  We were hardly using it.  It was costing us close to $20 a month.  We decided we did not need it, as we had Foxtel movies and could watch one any time (though Pixar is no longer in that stable as they have their own channel.  Pity to me.  Theirs are the movies I really like.)
I have hundreds of records and cd’s and Merril has heaps.  When I am asked what I would like foe a present, I often ask for a gift card to a music store.  Anyway, we investigated Spotify and found we could get the family subscription  for slightly less per month than we paid for Netflix.  We have it on our phones and connected to a Wi-Fi device and can listen to what we want anytime.  Often an artist occurs to me and I look for them on Spotify and there they are!
One of our better decisions really.  A great advantage of having it is we can determine what we would like to buy by hearing the album first.  It is sort of a try before you buy. 
There is another great advantage.  We run a lending library that contains books, cd’s and dvd’s.  Someone brought around a pile of cd’s recently.  We went through them to decide what would be good for the library.  There were a couple of albums that did not have covers.  No problem though.  The name of the cd was often there, and it was just a matter of typing in the name into Spotify and finding the album.  At that point I could listen to it to determine if it should go in the library or not.  I found a couple of what I consider outstanding albums that way.
One was by a lady I had never heard of called Alesia Turner.  I did not find the music outstanding, but it was pretty, and the words were spot on.  I found out why when I read a bit about her.  What I found outstanding I found online.  She loved to sing from a child.  Then she was diagnosed with Lyme disease after years of nobody knowing the cause of her malaise.  She is on the road to recovery but has setbacks.
Why I like that, has to do with my being very interested in people who have overcome major hurdles.  When others would be tempted to grab their bat and ball and go home, some persevere through the adversity and come out the other side.  Never glad they went through what they did, but always being better people.  People who have been through that or other obstacles can relate.  Her motto was “Whatever it takes.  I will do whatever it takes.”
There are great lessons in her story.  She has learned to forgive people and even the tick that stole so much from her.  She has learned to appreciate.  She has learned to love again, even when she did not understand. 
I love that.  I know I will not always understand, but I can always trust.