--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: this I know of life’s difficult times…" description: "\"“this I know of life’s difficult times: there is always a time for them to begin and a time for them to end, and the man who knows this knows he must t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/andre-dubus-iii-16475_difficult-time_this-i-know-of-life-s-difficult-times-th_617761.jpg" --- # this I know of life’s difficult times: there is always a… ![“this I know of life’s difficult times: there is always a time for them to begin and a time for them to end, and the man who knows this knows he must thank God for each day he has suffered because that is always one day closer to the sun, the real sun.” quote by Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/andre-dubus-iii-16475_difficult-time_this-i-know-of-life-s-difficult-times-th_617761.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/andre-dubus-iii-16475_difficult-time_this-i-know-of-life-s-difficult-times-th_617761.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/andre-dubus-iii-16475_difficult-time_this-i-know-of-life-s-difficult-times-th_617761.jpg) > ““this I know of life’s difficult times: there is always a time for them to begin and a time for them to end, and the man who knows this knows he must thank God for each day he has suffered because that is always one day closer to the sun, the real sun.”” [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suffering is temporary; each hardship moves us closer to enlightenment and divine light. **In simple terms:** Pain leads toward growth and hope. Key Takeaway Find gratitude in trials. Themes suffering faith hope Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal loss - health crises - career setbacks - spiritual reflection Key Concepts spiritual growth temporal perspective Questions to Reflect On - What lessons have you learned from hardship? - How can gratitude coexist with seeking change? A Different Perspective Gratitude may overlook the need to address systemic causes of suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Closer Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closer-sun-4262145/) [Difficult time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-time/) [Difficult times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-times/) [Know Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-difficult/) [Thank god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thank-god/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Truth of life is that in difficult times, my family was my backbone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manisha-koirala/truth-of-life-is-that-in-difficult-times-my-family-was-my-backbone/) [Manisha Koirala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manisha-koirala/) > [I've got a history in my life of difficult times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nesbitt/i-ve-got-a-history-in-my-life-of-difficult-times/) [James Nesbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nesbitt/) > [“Those of us who love his music will never allow it to die. 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And as soon as you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/with-every-failure-every-crisis-every-difficult-time-i-say-what-is/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [When you face difficult times, know that challenges are not sent to destroy you. They're sent to promote, increase and strengthen you and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/when-you-face-difficult-times-know-that-challenges-are-not-sent-to/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) ## More by Andre Dubus III > [“Soraya-joon, I have done all that I could. Do not be sorry for us. Your mother and I await you upon your return. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/soraya-joon-i-have-done-all-that-i-could-do-not-be-sorry-for-us-your/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) > [“But beneath them all, at the very bottom of the stack, is a worn and slightly tattered magazine called African Mamas Sucking Hog. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/but-beneath-them-all-at-the-very-bottom-of-the-stack-is-a-worn-and/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) > [“She was speaking again, her voice like the chirp of a bird who has flown into a black tunnel but does not yet know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/she-was-speaking-again-her-voice-like-the-chirp-of-a-bird-who-has/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) > [“... beach houses along short sandy streets. He can feel her bare forarm brushing his, and it's strange she's being so quiet. 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She peered up at him, but he was just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/coming-dennis-held-his-arm-out-for-her-a-patient-smile-in-his-voice/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) > [“Her thighs are oiled and dark, and oblivion never felt as good as it does now,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/her-thighs-are-oiled-and-dark-and-oblivion-never-felt-as-good-as-it/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) > [“It’s easy K. on one side of the page you got your costs and on the other side your benefits. All you do is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/it-s-easy-k-on-one-side-of-the-page-you-got-your-costs-and-on-the/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) > [“If you don’t put 99 percent of yourself into the writing, there will be no publishing career. There’s the writer and there’s the author.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/if-you-don-t-put-99-percent-of-yourself-into-the-writing-there-will/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) > [“Dat's what they say of this cauntry back home, Kath: 'America, the land of milk and honey.' Bot they never tell you the milk's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/dat-s-what-they-say-of-this-cauntry-back-home-kath-america-the-land/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) > [“Letting go of the pipe in the laundry room, he could feel in his throat so many sentences from the night's reading of emails,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/letting-go-of-the-pipe-in-the-laundry-room-he-could-feel-in-his/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) > [“If my father had been working at the 7-Eleven in Wyoming last night, what would he have done? Would he have gone for Elroy's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/if-my-father-had-been-working-at-the-7-eleven-in-wyoming-last-night/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) > [“But even in September, Thursday was a big money night, seven to eight hundred take-home, and that's what April concentrated on as she drove,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/but-even-in-september-thursday-was-a-big-money-night-seven-to-eight/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) > [“The JD wasn't going down smooth at all. Not like good stuff should. Instead of a warm slow seeping, it seemed to be kicking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/the-jd-wasn-t-going-down-smooth-at-all-not-like-good-stuff-should/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) [Explore all 39 Andre Dubus III quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) ## More Difficult time quotes > [Don't compare your career to anyone else's. It's tough when you're in a business that's competitive. I was having a difficult time with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-brooks/don-t-compare-your-career-to-anyone-else-s-it-s-tough-when-you-re-in/) [Danielle Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-brooks/) > [Everyone knows that when you go through a divorce, it's a really difficult time for both parties and you've all - you believe, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-mills/everyone-knows-that-when-you-go-through-a-divorce-it-s-a-really/) [Heather Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-mills/) > [Washington culture has always had a difficult time acknowledging untruth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/washington-culture-has-always-had-a-difficult-time-acknowledging/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [Truth of life is that in difficult times, my family was my backbone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manisha-koirala/truth-of-life-is-that-in-difficult-times-my-family-was-my-backbone/) [Manisha Koirala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manisha-koirala/) > [I did not come to Mumbai to act. I came here to look for a job as our business had shut down, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anupriya-goenka/i-did-not-come-to-mumbai-to-act-i-came-here-to-look-for-a-job-as-our/) [Anupriya Goenka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anupriya-goenka/) > [True friends not only support you in difficult times, but also help with a way out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/true-friends-not-only-support-you-in-difficult-times-but-also-help/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“Watching someone you love go through difficult times is like being trapped in your own body but paralyzed. You want to yell at them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-van-dyken/watching-someone-you-love-go-through-difficult-times-is-like-being/) [Rachel Van Dyken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-van-dyken/) > [“It’s easy to see what to do once it’s already been done. The difficult time is before it’s to be done, and while you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/it-s-easy-to-see-what-to-do-once-it-s-already-been-done-the-difficult/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“sometimes our lives have moments of great disappointment. It’s difficult at the time, but we have to move beyond.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-charles/sometimes-our-lives-have-moments-of-great-disappointment-it-s/) [Nicky Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-charles/) > [Even when there was a difficult time for me I was always focused on my job or I was always working hard. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukasz-fabianski/even-when-there-was-a-difficult-time-for-me-i-was-always-focused-on/) [Lukasz Fabianski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukasz-fabianski/) > [Most single people I know, myself included, have a difficult time even meeting up with the people they like, be it busy schedules, texting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/most-single-people-i-know-myself-included-have-a-difficult-time-even/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [ I can assure the conspiracy theorists who have very effectively savaged \[Gerald\] Posner in their books that they're going to have a much, much… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-bugliosi/i-can-assure-the-conspiracy-theorists-who-have-very-effectively/) [Vincent Bugliosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-bugliosi/) > [With every failure, every crisis, every difficult time, I say - What is this here to teach me? 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They're sent to promote, increase and strengthen you and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/when-you-face-difficult-times-know-that-challenges-are-not-sent-to/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) [Browse all 667 Difficult time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-time/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“this I know of life’s difficult times: there is always a time for them to begin and a time for them to end, and the man who knows this knows he must thank God for each day he has suffered because that is always one day closer to the sun, the real sun.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andre Dubus III" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/this-i-know-of-life-s-difficult-times-there-is-always-a-time-for-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Difficult time" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/this-i-know-of-life-s-difficult-times-there-is-always-a-time-for-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/andre-dubus-iii-16475_difficult-time_this-i-know-of-life-s-difficult-times-th_617761.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/andre-dubus-iii-16475_difficult-time_this-i-know-of-life-s-difficult-times-th_617761.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/andre-dubus-iii-16475_difficult-time_this-i-know-of-life-s-difficult-times-th_617761.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“this I know of life’s difficult times: there is always a time for them to begin and a time for them to end…” — Andre Dubus III", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andre Dubus III", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“this I know of life’s difficult...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/this-i-know-of-life-s-difficult-times-there-is-always-a-time-for-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/this-i-know-of-life-s-difficult-times-there-is-always-a-time-for-them/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```