"We are not defined by our defeats." Those words were spoken tonight by President Anthony Cernera of Sacred Heart University, which was the beneficiary of a dinner I attended tonight (ably emceed by CBS's Dave Price). The dinner raised more than $700,000 and I was delighted to be among the honorees, along with John Ratzenberger, the actor (of Cheers fame), a Sacred Heart alum. While I have no personal connection to the school, I was happy to be a part of an event that raises money to ensure educational opportunities for kids at a university that has an ethical and moral focus along with its educational mandate. Riding home from the event, I caught up on emails and was struck by the ‘coincidence’ of the following email, especially given the tenor of my remarks. Read on …

The message came from Sherrie. She said,”Thank you for reminding me "in all things give thanks." She continued, "I had forgotten that verse, I was reminded by you at a time when I need it more than ever. I have also started reading my Bible again and I purchased you new book too. God bless you and thank you!”

I read Sherrie’s email just after I received the “Discovery Award” from Sacred Heart University. I said, “I don’t deserve this award, because I am still on that journey of discovery.” I talked about my spiritual journey, beginning as girl growing up in the Bible Belt in Georgia – one that continues to this day. I talked about how as time has gone by, I have realized just how important a lifeline my faith has become. Especially in the difficult times.

Each of us had difficult times. Each of us has disappointments. When Sacred Heart’s President Cernera spoke of how we are not defined by our disappointments, I thought, ‘How often we allow those defeats to be our life’s measuring stick.’ Maybe today is the day to really put thank you powerdidn’t happen the way you’d hoped – but on the unexpected and unplanned things that were good.