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“I don’t think so. Death is easy. Living is the hard part.
L
Why do terrible things happen to such good people?” Ambrose asked. “Because terrible things happen to everyone, Brosey. We’re all just so caught up in our own crap that we don’t see the shit everyone else is wading through.” Ambrose had no answer for that and Bailey seemed content to let him wrangle with his thoughts for a time.
L
But like Coach Sheen, I’ve learned there are things more important than wrestling. Being a hero on the mat isn’t nearly as important as being a hero off the mat,
L
“Bailey is proof of this. He was always smiling, and in so many ways he had
L
life beat, not the other way around. We can’t always control what happens to us. Whether it’s a crippled body or a scarred face. Whether it’s the loss of people we love and don’t want to live without,”
L
But I’ve decided to smile,
L
“Do you remember your last step?”
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“I don’t think we get answers to every question. We don’t get to know all the whys. But I think we will look back at the end of our lives, if we do the best we can, and we will see that
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the things that we begged God to take
from us, the things we cursed him for, the things that made us turn our backs on him or any belief in him, are the things that were the biggest blessings, the biggest opportunities for growth.”
L
“But after tonight, I can’t say that anymore. There’s a lot I don’t understand . . . but not understanding is better than not believing.”
L
The discomfort of curious gazes, the whispers behind hands, the explanations that people felt they were owed all grated on him. But it was okay too. He claimed the questions gave him an opportunity to get it all out in the open,
L
because seconds became minutes and minutes became precious when life could be taken in less than a breath.
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“True beauty, the kind that doesn’t fade or wash off, takes time. It takes pressure. It takes incredible endurance.
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something better emerges, something that would otherwise never exist.
L
