09/08/2026
Bad Luck... Or Hidden Mercy?
One of the greatest lessons Freemasonry teaches us is that our perspective is often limited.
We judge today's events without knowing tomorrow's outcome.
A petition is rejected.
A promotion doesn't happen.
A relationship ends.
A job disappears.
A door closes.
In the moment, it feels like failure.
It feels unfair.
It feels like the world is working against us.
But what if we simply can't see the whole picture?
Author Cormac McCarthy was not a Freemason, but he captured a truth that I think every Mason can appreciate:
"You never know what worse luck your bad luck saved you from."
That single sentence changes everything.
How many times have you looked back years later and realized...
The job you didn't get led you to a better career.
The relationship that ended made room for the one you truly needed.
The delay, the disappointment, the detour...
They weren't punishments.
They were protection.
As Masons, we're taught to trust the process of shaping the Rough Ashlar.
The stone doesn't understand why the chisel strikes where it does.
If it could speak, it might call every blow "bad luck."
Yet the Master Craftsman sees something the stone cannot.
Not destruction...
Transformation.
Life often works the same way.
We don't always understand why things happen when they do.
Sometimes we never will.
But experience has taught me that many of the things I once called my greatest setbacks eventually became the foundation for something far better.
That doesn't mean every hardship has an obvious purpose.
Some pain is simply pain.
Some loss is simply loss.
But it does remind us to be careful about declaring today a disaster when tomorrow hasn't yet arrived.
Maybe the path you were forced to leave...
Was leading somewhere you were never meant to go.
So if you're going through a difficult season right now, don't lose hope.
The story isn't over.
And you may one day discover that what felt like your worst luck...
Was quietly saving you from something far worse.
I'd love to hear your story.
Looking back on your life...
What first appeared to be bad luck, but later turned out to be one of the greatest blessings you never saw coming?
