I've had my share of dark days. The day my parents' marriage broke up. The day the boy I thought I would marry chose another. The day my father disowned me.

I don't like to look back on any of those situations. The pain those memories bring to me are often too much for me to bear. But, occasionally, they do cross my mind whether I intend for them to or not. Occasionally, they pop up at the most unexpected times, and I find myself thankful-not remorseful-that they have become part of my life's story.

You see, they are some of the many threads that I can clearly see have been woven throughout my life. Threads that if I were to grab onto and follow through the years like a photo album, I would see the hand of God carefully maneuvering them, and me, through life...even before I believed in Him.

It's so much easier now to appreciate those hurts. To actually celebrate them knowing that the pain I suffered broke my heart to the point of opening it up to something new, something much better than I started with.

My parents break-up led to my mother remarrying the most influential man of my life. My stepfather, from day one, became everything I had hoped and prayed for in a father. While my own father was uber-critical and disapproving of everything I did, my stepfather welcomed me into his life with open arms, telling me what I blessing I was to him. He had no idea I'd prayed for him to come to me for years.

The boy I thought I would marry chose another only months after we'd discussed getting married ourselves. Though we were way too young at the time and were moved apart by circumstances, I was devastated when I found he'd moved on completely. But that disappointment was soon overcome when I realized that another boy - one I'd been close friends with for most of my life - would come to hold my hand at the altar and build a future with me.

The day my father disowned me was one of the most heartbreaking of my life. He did so in such a cold, almost calculated way, that I wondered if he'd been waiting for that opportunity since I'd been born. It took me years of wandering aimlessly to fill the void he left (and really the one that existed even when he was there) before I broke down, fell to my knees, and cried out to the Father who had been by my side through it all. I can't tell you how loved I felt to finally realize that all the years I'd spent in my room as a young girl crying about situations with my father were not spent alone as I had thought. My Father in Heaven was with me from day one, and He continues with me still.

It's because of these painful experiences in my life that I know how to relish the trials that come my way. I don't look forward to them. And I don't particularly enjoy them while I am living them. But I do know with complete certainty that God is using them to my advantage. I will reap a multitude of benefits in exchange for the moments of pain.

God can turn anything in our lives around. I am convinced as the Bible says that "neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

I know that verse is true because I've lived through it to the other side. Have faith, sweet sisters, He will bring you through to the other side as well. And one day, as you look back, you'll tuck that thread into the fabric of your life and be grateful for the trip you took. Together.

Laura Polk is a wife and mother of three who has a passion for teaching young women that God is in the details of their lives. She has contributed to various magazines, websites and blogs and is currently working on a YA novel. While contributing to other ministries, she is building one of her own through a tween website that targets girls ages 8-11. Check out her blog or watch her website grow.