Allow me to introduce you to a remarkable lady.  Her name is Carissa Phelps and this is a story that will warm your heart and at the same time make you cringe a bit.

At the age of twelve, Carissa was taken to Juvenile Hall in Fresno by her mother, who declared Carissa to be out of control.  Shortly after her arrival there, Carissa ran away from the group home for troubled youth, and began living on the streets.  She promptly fell in with a prostitute named Linda who began grooming her young friend for a life of prostitution.

Four years ago this writer met a man named Steve.  We were both attending a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, and during the meeting I noticed this man sitting in a corner by himself.  Several meetings later, I decided to introduce myself, and several weeks later we became friends.

As our friendship grew, our conversations took on a personal nature, and we began to delve into each other's lives.  It was not long after that when Steve informed me that he had Alzheimer’s disease.  At the time he was forty-nine; he had been diagnosed with the disease five years earlier at the age of forty-four.  To say I was shocked would be an understatement.  People that young were not supposed to have Alzheimer’s, or so I believed.  I was wrong!

We all go from day to day not thinking about much other than our present circumstances; we need to think ahead to tomorrow and what we want to create in our lives.

We all know that creating a better life may not be simple, but it certainly is not impossible. The thing is that we need to make steps each and every day towards our ultimate goal. If you think your life is hard to tolerate perhaps you have to take a good hard look at the good things that are in your life and be thankful.