Hard things are hard, and sometimes the hard things are of our own making, but not always. Not all the hard things can be traced to some sinful choice that we have made. Sometimes, the hardest hard things that come into our lives are things over which we have absolutely no control. Someone else makes a choice, and we get caught in the ripples, or trapped in the shadow, or drowned in the wake of their decision. Those secondhand hard things are all around us.
Hard things are hard.
A person with a twisted mind decides to do violence to another human being, and a stunned family carries with them for the rest of their lives the memory of a lost loved one and a scar that never fully fades. Hard things are hard. Someone decides to tell a vicious lie about a rival or an opponent, and a sterling reputation is turned black and blue by the subtle bruise of a rumor. Hard things are hard. Hard things are hard, and sometimes life s hardest hard things land in the laps of life s most innocent bystanders.