Ben Domenech

And he looks up and we all know the moment.

He sees this white star shining above.

through the sky and tolkien says the beauty of it smote his heart as he looked up out of the forsaken land and hope returned to him for like a shaft clear and cold the thought pierced him that in the end the shadow was only a small and passing thing there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach

That is my number one go-to passage for when times are tough because it just reminds us that any difficulty you're going through, it is a passing thing.

All of these moments are temporary for us.

And it doesn't always feel like that, but that reminds us that they are.

And I think the other thing I like about that is that passage reminds us not only that the shadow is a passing thing, that these troubles are going to pass, but it also reminds me that

Sam in this moment, he's doing this for a reason.

He is suffering for something.

He's suffering for his love of Frodo and for this quest that they're on together.

He is fighting for something.

Mm-hmm.

And I think that's comforting to me as well is to know not only is this something that's going to pass, but also that I can fight.

I can keep on fighting.

I can take just one step after another and just get through this because it's worth fighting for.

So that is my number one.

I don't even have a number two.

That's my number one.

It's a good number one.

I find that so moving and so encouraging.