 It's not that your pain was necessary. Suffering isn't necessarily instrumental. Often it's pointless. But neither can we escape the truth that joy and sorrow are old friends. We say that the day is coming when all the tears will be wiped away because we know for certain that there will be tears. Even in the celebration, even in the victory, even in the plentiful arrival of that joyful feast we will still have to say goodbye to our imperfect yesterdays.