The Blessing of Adversity
It’s April 8, 2020. The Coronavirus has made its way around the globe and people are stunned and scared. Who would’ve ever imagined the current state of our world today with Stay Home orders, quarantined living and toilet paper hoarding? The grocery stores have taped the floors to ensure six feet of distance between us. We have either been working from home, schooling from home, furloughed from our jobs, or just plain laid off. People have contracted the virus, recovered from the virus, and/or died from the virus. There is no doubt that these are trying times and adversity has come knocking on the door of many of our homes.
However grueling and challenging, I have noticed a trend in the resolve of a decent percentage of the human race and I hope it becomes contagious to the rest of us. (No pun intended!) Some of us are rising above the chaos and negative noise. Some of us are finding ways to be a part of the solutions to the issues before us, instead of being a part of the problem. Some of us even have the audacity to take advantage of the additional time we have with our families, learn new skills, evaluate the future and what we want it to look like moving forward, and wait for it…DREAM. I, for one, have enjoyed the deeper conversations I’ve had and seeing the lights come on in a person when they realize that they actually can come out on the other side of this thing stronger and better.
When here in the states, people began realizing how serious this thing was, I recognized the reactions and responses in people. I recognize the worry, fear and sense of hopelessness. I recognize it because we have had our share of adversity in our lives. I remember when my daughter’s life seemed to hang in the balance every day. We felt we had little control over whether she’d die from the disease of Rett Syndrome or not. It wasn’t something she could catch. Rather it was something she already had and we were living in the reality of seeing others her age or even younger, perish because of the complications of this disease. I remember feeling moments of fear and sadness. I remember feeling like it wasn’t fair. And my heart breaks for those who have lost loved ones fighting for their lives or have already succumbed to this virus. You may be looking at others who seem untouched and oblivious to the pain of what this virus has done to your family and it doesn’t seem fair. “Why me? Why my family?” If that is you, what I am saying is in no way minimizing your pain. But when we were going through heavy trials and crises of our own with our daughter’s lack of health, my husband’s lack of work, and lack of answered prayers, adversity seemed to be hitting us from all sides. But we had a choice to make about how we were going to face it. Today, we have the luxury of 20/20 hindsight. Kaiya’s health has majorly improved. We both have lucrative businesses and we are well on our way to living the kind of life we want. Furthermore, I know without a shadow of a doubt, that I have become a much-improved version of myself. We had to get creative about how to earn incomes with a special needs child on our hands! We had to think and dream bigger than the circumstances that we were faced with and I thank God for His leading and guiding us every step of the way. It was NOT easy. However, were it not for those hard times, I would be a completely different, and yes, unhappier, individual. I have found purpose in my pain, creativity in the conflict, and greatness in my growth through ALL of it. When adversity shows up, the greatest part of us, the part of us we were always meant to be, has the opportunity to rise and show itself to the world. It may not happen overnight. But for those of us who are determined, have faith and a vision for the best things life has to offer, you better believe you’re going to see someone amazing come up from the ashes.
Life must go on, even when tragedy strikes. Why? Because people in this world still need us to show up and walk in our greatness! We exist to be there for one another! This is one of my favorite things about early Christianity. Those people knew how to carry on for one another and they were being killed and tortured for their faith daily. Still, they had faith, loved and supported one another, and ROSE to the occasion of their time. How much more can we do that for one another today?
Life looks different for us and will continue to for a little while at least. But I encourage you to use this time to grow, mature and reconsider your level of contribution to the world moving forward. This adversity we face can seem terrifying. But with time and a heightened sense of your true and valuable purpose, it may actually become a blessing. Rise.