Hard times - and then some!

A co-worker who has recently suffered a succession of disappointments recently said "It never rains but it pours". In Japanese you can express this idiom like this:

泣きっ面に蜂 (nakittsura ni hachi)

泣く - なく - to cry
面 - つら - a face
蜂 - はち - a hornet, wasp or bee

So you could say literally: a hornet in a crying face. In other words, just when you thought things were going badly - ouch!

However, the following expression may help one to bear up through difficult times:

継続は力なり (keizoku ha chikara nari)

継続 - きいぞく - continuation
力 - ちから - strength

In other words perseverance (through difficult times) makes you strong.