At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, walked through the park in Berlin. There he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her favorite doll. She and Kafka searched for the doll unsuccessfully.
Kafka told her to meet him in the same park the next day and they would continue to look for her doll.
After a thorough search of the park the following day, when they had not yet found the doll, Kafka gave the girl a letter "written" by her doll saying, "Please don't cry. I took a trip to see the world. I will write to you about my adventures."
Thus began a story which continued until the end of Kafka's life.
During meetings between Kafka and the girl, he would read the letters of the doll carefully written with adventures and conversations that the girl found adorable.
Finally, Kafka brought back "the doll" (he bought one) and gave it to the girl, informing her that her doll had come home to Berlin.
" It doesn't look like my doll at all," said the girl.
Kafka handed her another letter in which the doll wrote, "My travels have changed me."
The delighted little girl hugged the new doll and joyfully brought her home.
A year later Kafka died.
Many years later, the now adult girl found a letter inside the doll. In the tiny letter was signed by Kafka. He wrote, "Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return in another way."

I often hear said, and have said it myself, about some of the most painful or embarrassing of life's experiences, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
When you can step back from the emotion of a situation and look at all the angles, lessons and growth is most profound during some of the most trying situations.

Be gentle with yourself. Embrace the change. It is inevitable for growth. Together we can shift pain into wonder and love, but it is up to us to consciously and intentionally create that connection.