Happy Stories About Hard Things
A Short Note About My 2026 Writing Project
I thought I was going to die when I was 21. And I was convinced that something I loved had killed me.
Kayaking was my favorite thing to do in college until it wasn’t. On Sundays my friends and I would paddle down the Saluda River. When I look back now those were some of the most peaceful times in my life. I had very little to worry about back then, and being on the river was good for my soul.
On Labor Day weekend in 2013, we did what we had often done. A large group of us paddled down the river in an act of Sabbath rest. After hours on the water that day I came back to my dorm to study for a test. The next day I took that test and left with my head spinning. My first thought was that my Greek test had done a number on me!
I laid down to rest and woke up hours later in a hospital. I didn’t know it then but my life had changed forever. I was convinced that my kayaking trip had given me a mysterious illness that caused me to pass out and wake up with needles in my arm. It’s a story for another time, but even after I learned more about my illness I blamed that kayaking trip. Surely the Saluda River, where I had spent those Sabbath days, had made me sick.
I’ll save the rest of that story for a later time, but I did learn more about that illness. I found out its name. I found out that kayaking had nothing to do with it. But I also found out that Sabbath rest could be found within it. On the surface this may sound like a sad story. But it isn’t. This is just a happy story about hard things.
God has seen fit to make these kinds of stories part of my life story. Since that day on the Saluda River I have lots of stories that would probably make you sad at first. But hidden within hard stories are stories of steadfastness. Stories that James of the Bible calls “pure joy” (James 1:2-4).
When I was 21 I was the only one of my friends with this kind of story, and I felt utterly alone. I can’t tell you how many times doctors or nurses have said something like “Aren’t you pretty young to be in here?” But as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned that you have these stories too. I am not alone in hard things, and neither are you.
In 2026 on this Substack I’ll be sharing these happy stories about hard things with you. Some are short, and some are long. But they’re all about how a good God turns hard things purposeful.
I hope that you’ll join me next year sometimes. My stories are mostly about my illness, how it has affected my body and mind, and how I’ve had to learn that my health is not God. Your hard stories may be related to something completely different. But I know that you have them, and I know that God has a purpose for them.
Thank God for stories. I can’t wait to share mine with you. And I’d love to hear yours sometime.
Until next time,
-Mitch