Watching the stock market, particularly as it takes runs that would make a daredevil pilot squeamish, reminds me of a phrase my mom would use occasionally: “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.” She would use that expression as a reality check on changes in good fortune, whether the stakes were small or grand. I have tried to remember her wisdom and understanding – with mixed results – over the decades.

Of course, the sentiment comes from Job 1:21: ““Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”  Mom and dad had a life of gains and losses, having come from humble beginnings, marrying during the Great Depression, losing a 5-year daughter to leukemia not long after World War II, building an accounting business to lose one-third of the revenue when a client wanted dad to keep two sets of books, battling cancer when their youngest son (me) was about to enter first grade. There were many good times and there were difficult ones; there were times of plenty and times of scarcity. They never surrendered nor lost faith, though I am sure it was challenged.

As the years have gone by, I have come to a greater understanding of, and appreciation for, the examples my parents provided me, particularly those revealed in the learning moments of day-to-day living. It is in the small moments where we gain the wisdom, insight and resilience to cope with the monumental challenges that we are assured to face in life.