Strength

                                          

Today's post is going to be about strong women. Now, we all have them in our lives and I just want to take a minute to share a couple of them that come to my mind when I think of strength. First, is my best friend, Kati and her mother, Susan.
                                                    

Kati has had to deal with loss and hardship from an early age and she is another one of my heroes! She is a spit-fire with so much vibrancy that you can’t help but feel good when you are around her. She is brave. She picked up her life and moved out of her comfort zone and even though I was sad to see her go it has been a wonderful thing for not only her but for our friendship. I have seen her grow and mature into a beutiful young woman that I am so proud to call my best friend. Now, Susan is the epitome of strength in my eyes. She developed epilepsy when she had Kati, her husband (Kati's father) passed away when Kati was very young. She found out about a year ago she had breast cancer and had to have a biopsy. Now to make matters worse, she has developed rheumatoid arthritis and can barely walk but you will never hear her complain. She is a godly women who has the biggest heart in the world. She would do anything for anybody and loves her daughter with all of her heart.
The Bein women are definitely survivors who handle their hardships with grace and elegance.

Which brings me to my next point, if true strength is shown when life gets turbulent then it's hard not to wonder why one person can be dealt such a tough hand while others just sail by.
Women like Susan Bein should be given a medal of valor. They are strength personified.

I am no stranger to hardship and hot water (my mouth gets me into it quite often hehe).
I honestly believe though that if you ask anyone who has conquered tough times they would all say that they wouldn't change it for the world.

I am extremely blessed at this point in my life; having a wonderful husband who treats me like a princess and makes it a point to tell me every day that I am beautiful and that he loves me. I have a huge support system that consists of amazing friends and family. I have everything I could ever want or need but this was not always the case.

When I was a Junior in high school my father and I lost our house and became homeless. We went through periods of starvation and I constantly worried about how I was going to work and continue to attend school if I had to support both of us on my measly part-time paychecks. If it wasn't for Kati and her mom who knows what would have happened. They took me in and I am forever in debt to them for their generosity and love. Once I graduated, I went back to stay with my father who was living in an old abandoned building that several other homeless people lived in. It honestly should have been condemned because the building was falling apart and had who knows what in it. I was depressed and lost because I didn't know what I was going to do and then I met Robby at a bonfire.

He was from a privileged family and I couldn't help but feel guilty that he was essentially taking on my baggage and he didn't deserve it or need to. I told him several times to find someone else and that he could do better but he always said no. He said that it broke his heart to see me staying in a place like this and that he was going to do whatever he could to save me from it and he did! He was my knight in shining armor and he changed my life. He is amazing and so strong! I think back and it amazes me how strong, driven, and selfless he was and at such a young age. I grew up because I had to, I had no choice but he could have walked away at any point. He is different than any other man; he definitely breaks the mold. He could have had anyone but instead he chose to see past my circumstances and see me for me. We have been together now for 7 years and have been married  for 5 1/2 years. I am blessed.
                                                                       
My tumultuous past taught me that I did not want to be in that position ever again and that I needed to work hard on myself, my faith, my marriage, my relationships and my profession constantly.

I survived and I look back now and see that through everything it made me a stronger. It has granted me relationships and people that will forever be intertwined in the fabric of my life. It granted me a new view of life and reality but most of all, I saw that the world can be harsh and cruel at times and that nothing should be expected for it is all a gift that can be taken away in a blink of an eye.

1 Corinthians 10:13  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.