Image - Craig Jensen |
Each one of these lovely ladies had experienced a great loss of one kind or another. But each one had managed to come back with grace and strength, and had adapted to their losses creatively and even profitably! Briefly, here are their stories:
Sarah unexpectedly had a stroke that paralyzed the entire right side of her body. She was left without the ability to care for herself or to even speak. Gradually, and with a lot of work, she was able to get back a lot of what she lost. Ultimately she did have to give up skills that had formerly been easy for her. But she was so grateful to be able to have what she has now and is very accepting of her limitations and is so positive that people around her are lifted by her gentle spirit. She is also very skilled at crochet!
Cindy loved dancing as a girl and young adult. She was looking towards becoming a dance major, graduating in dance and dancing professionally. She lived and breathed dance. But tragedy struck when she was involved in a serious car accident that rendered her immobile and unable to move, much less dance. She never regained her ability to dance. With the evaporation of her dream, she had to find other interests that were within her abilities. She found that she was good at writing. She developed her skill and is a published author of at least several books. She is a public speaker. She makes beautiful jewelry and she is a traveler. She also is a Life Counselor who is very generous with her hints and tips. I took one of her tips to heart to make my own professional and personal life richer and more meaningful!
Bethany's world was her husband and family. Married to the love of her life for many years, he unexpectedly betrayed her and ruined their marriage. It ended in divorce. He then stole her intellectual property and used it for his own financial gain, giving her nothing in return. She has had to pick up the pieces of her own identity, which was so intertwined with her marriage and what that represented. It hasn't been easy and she has been tempted to take the path of bitterness and revenge. But instead she has chosen to be positive, build from the ground up, and state her intentions of growth. She is adamant that she wants to be married again and is positive that there is love waiting for her at some point, even though she isn't young anymore. She is so positive and upbeat and faces the world with dignity, courage and hope! I know that her positive vibes will attract what she is seeking!
When I started learning about these women, my guard was let down and I started to feel trust in them. That is a strange emotion for me. My own life's experiences have not been ones to foster that particular trait. Trust doesn't come free with me. I realize that not everyone can relate to where I have come from, a divorcee whose husband not only unexpectedly left her, but took everything, including her precious children and was successful in keeping them despite many and repeated efforts and finances to gain them back. I was taken by surprise, destitute, broken, and unable to navigate the curve balls dealt out to me.Thus I was never able to raise them as a true mother, and the role of "mom" was taken from me. Even my own family looked at me like I was some kind of failure for many years, ostracizing and criticizing me. So why should I expect anyone to believe or relate to my story? I eventually was able to rebuild my life, re-connect with my sons, and become identified as something more than a "birth mom".
When I realized that these women experienced loss that completely took away their former identities, and yet they were able to rebuild, it was so empowering! I felt such a sense of healing. They could understand me because they had lived through similar experiences. I'm thankful that I was able to experience yet another step in my lifelong recovery from the one trauma that could have destroyed me personally forever, but didn't!
This certainly isn't a sponsored post, but I can tell you that this controlled and empowering experience was life-changing for me. If you hear about 'Tribalry', you should definitely check it out!
Today is "My Post Monday!", a curation of the week's best original content. It's all about posts from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain! I open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks, believes, and knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag! I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to! So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too! I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize(Affiliate links welcome)