This week I had to write my credo. Never really thought about it before, but my philosophy professor nearly fell over when he saw my bracelet which says "Everything Happens for a Reason." Turns out that was going to be the lecture. It also ends up being my credo. If you're not sure what a credo is, or what your personal credo is, check out http://thisibelieve.org/essays/featured/ to see and hear what others have written. It's not as easy as it seems. My credo follows, but I'll warn you...I got emotional. I got teary. It was tough. But, hey, everything happens for a reason...
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Everything happens for a reason.
Some may find this statement cliché, but I believe it every day. Every
hardship, every struggle, has made me stronger. Each time I face a new obstacle
or challenge, I am able face it head on with the confidence that I will not
only succeed, but that I will ultimately learn something valuable about myself
on the journey. Because every journey, every challenge, everything happens for
a reason.
I've been through a lot, just as most
people have. It is not always easy to see the silver lining in difficult times.
For many years I let myself get caught up in negativity and felt terrible about
my odds in the battles I was facing. My health was horrible, and no one knew
exactly why. I felt like a pin cushion as week after week they took my blood
which was tested for illnesses and diseases, most of which I never heard of. I was
told at age sixteen I would never have children, and now they were telling me I
may have a terminal illness. I was seventeen. My support system was small, but
amazing. I had just a few people who knew what I was going through; It was
better for me that way. I didn't want sympathy, I just wanted to be better,
even though I didn't know what exactly "better" meant for me anymore.
That's when I just decided to find the silver lining, even if it was tarnished.
I started to find the positive in
everything, no matter how minimal the positive was. Slowly but surely, my tests
were coming back normal, or at least a bit better than the week before. I
completed a six month course of treatment which left me with some scars, but I
now find them beautiful. They are a reminder that I can overcome, that I am
stronger than I ever realized. There were other heartbreaks that came along the
way, but in the end I proved a lot of doctors wrong. My blood work now is
normal, and has been for several years. After five heartbreaking ectopic
pregnancies, and two late-term miscarriages, I finally had what I call my
miracle baby.
Years of illness and heartbreak could
have swallowed me in depression and sorrow, and for a time I was trapped in my
sadness. But my illness helped me in the long run; I learned to find the
positive. Without the struggle, I would not appreciate the positive as fully as
I now can. Surviving and thriving in the
face of struggle has made me believe that everything happens for a reason.
