By Sean Dietrich
Guest columnist

Yyou’re going to be OK. That’s not an opinion. That’s not a guess. That’s not a trite little saying from some crappy motivational book that reads like it was written by a sleazy TV evangelist.

You’re going to be OK. That’s the truth. You’re really going to get through this shit you’re going through.

So relax. You don’t have to do anything to make everything OK. You don’t have to close your eyes particularly tightly, grit your teeth, use magic words, or clap for Tinkerbell.

Yes, things are bad. But right now, there’s a still, tiny voice speaking to you. And that voice is reading these very words next to you and telling you, “This guy is right.”

That’s not your voice. It’s a voice that’s coming from somewhere else. The problem is, you can’t always hear that little voice. That’s because you’re too busy freaking out.

“It will be okay,” the gentle voice will say again. “It will be okay. You’ll see.”

But you are afraid to trust that voice.

The voice also says other things like, “You’re not fat. You’re not stupid. You’re a smart person. You’re good enough. You’re very lucky. You’re a miracle. Everyone really likes you, except maybe your mother-in-law.”

I know you’re sitting there wondering why you’re still reading this nonsense when I obviously know nothing about you.

But you also think about how hard the last few weeks have been for you. The last few months. The last few years. The last few decades.

You think about how many times you pray for relief, but it never comes. You think about how you tried to put one foot in front of the other, but now it’s getting harder and harder to move your legs. You want to give up.

Meanwhile, the little voice is almost screaming. It says: “Don’t give up! You’re almost there!”

One day – I know you can’t imagine this – all your problems will be over. Every single one. The sun will shine. The birds will sing. The sky will be forever blue.

Your body will no longer ache. Your heart will feel light. Your mind will find peace.

On that day, I believe you will look back on that terrible time with bittersweet affection. Because that hell on earth will leave a mark on you. And you will think to yourself: “Wow, everything really turned out well.”

I don’t know how your life is going to go. I don’t know how it’s going to end. But I do know that I’ve had some bad times too. I’ve seen some terrible things in my life. I’m not that different from you.

I remember certain people always telling me exactly what I tell you. “Everything will be OK,” they all said.

And I had to use all my strength not to respond with a flapping noise with my mouth.

How did they know that EVERYTHING would be OK? What gave them the right to tell me that? They didn’t know me. They were just spouting cheap, pep talk cliches from New York Times bestselling self-help books whose only practical purpose was to straighten wobbly tables.

Still, these people were right. Everything worked out. It always has. And it will always be that way.

Just listen to the voice gently reminding you that this paragraph is almost over if you just hold on.

If you can just get through today and keep going, heaven will soon break out on earth.

Sean Dietrich is a columnist, novelist, and stand-up storyteller known for his commentary on life in the American South. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Southern Living, Reader’s Digest, Garden and Gun, The Selma Times-Journal, The Tallahassee Democrat, The Birmingham News, and The Mobile Press-Register.