Knots

I just finished a book (The Red Tent) and I have been thinking about this one paragraph over and over the past few days.  The main character is moving on to a new season in her life and she is reflecting...remember all the good of the past 20 years, and then she remarks that among the years there had been pain too, but "the painful things-seemed like the knots on a beautiful necklace, necessary for keeping the beads in place."

I hope that will be true in my life...that when I look back, I will see a beautiful necklace...with beautiful beads...and knots that only enhance the beauty and keep it all in place.