With me still being sick it was no surprise that the inspiration that came into my mind this morning was to read my scriptures about the 'restoration of the body' in Alma.  It was nice to refresh my 'hope' for that event which isn't actually 'hope' anymore.  It is a fact that I rely on.  Course my sickness will be long gone (I hope) while right now it is in the final stages, but still a pain in my butt (figuratively).  But the effects of my stroke of 02/02/02 still weigh on me and it will be a wonderful thing to have back what that took from me.  I see a balance required in living with the 'hope' of that restoration and the reality that I face everyday.  It is the same lesson of balance required in all things hoped for and the reality of those same things in our daily life.  It is apparent that we all have that same kind of a challenge, that is a balance between our hope and our reality.  How can a 14 year old shoot himself to death on his way home from junior high school unless his hope/reality scale is really out of balance?  You can see it everywhere.  Life is what it is and we have to 'live' with that, but life will be what it can be and we must continue to live FOR that.  Sounds simple, I know, but it really is the hard challenge of why we are here, and has to be that way.