Strength

I have a friends that are going through or that have family going through medical issues right now, which is what provoked this entry… When I say strength, I  don’t necessarily mean physical strength, but emotional strength…

As a general rule, men are emotionally stronger acting than women, but I must say that as much as I sometimes wish that men knew how to be more emotional, there are times I’m truly thankful that I am married to such a logically-minded man. I can honestly say that he has rubbed off on me in some ways in that sense. I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve and I sometimes just fall apart at the seams emotionally when things get tough. I’m able to be strong for other people when they are going through things, but when it’s me personally, I just sometimes can’t think logically because my heart and emotions control me. That’s why when I started going through the whole thyroid cancer ordeal, I actually surprised myself when I only fell apart a couple of times. As weird as it sounds, I think going through my miscarriage actually helped me emotionally deal with the thyroid stuff, but they were very different situations. Emotionally, the miscarriage was much harder for a longer period of time, but the thyroid thing is going to be a life-long issue, which might be why it has been easier to deal with, because I was born with Spina Bifida, so I’m used to medical issues. The thyroid stuff was harder emotionally than anything I have ever gone through with my day-to-day disability-related health issues though because it came on suddenly and I wasn’t really prepared for it. I guess in a weird way for me, it is just sometimes easier to deal with a long-term physical change, than it is to deal with a one-time emotional incident. With my miscarriage, it was emotional loss that can’t be undone or improved upon, but with on-going health issues, there is a chance for improvement.

Both of these situations have made me stronger emotionally and helped me adapt and deal with changes and circumstances that I have experienced.

As I’ve said in previous blogs, I fully believe that people are put into your life for a reason, and that things happen for a reason. God has put me in situations & given me the strength to deal with these things to hopefully be a positive example and hopefully help other people deal with their situations better when they are feeling weak, just like He has put strong, supportive people in my life at the right times to help me when I’ve needed strength as well. Strength can come from other people, whether it’s seeing someone else successfully get through a situation, someone writing about their situation and their words touching your heart (like a song, inspirational quotes, etc), or just them being supportive & being there and you having a peace in your heart to know that you can lean on them when you aren’t emotionally strong enough yourself to get through a situation by yourself… Most importantly, I feel like my strength comes from God. I know He would not put me into a situation that I could not handle, so I have a peace within my heart that I will get through my situations I deal with, which gives me strength.

Finally, I have always had a hard time reaching out to people for help because of my pride, and I like being the friend that people can come to, but it was reassuring to know that when God put the right people in my life, He also gave me the courage and STRENGTH to say, I am weak emotionally right now, and I need help. I’m so thankful for all for support, strength and love that has surrounded me in the past few years, and more so over the the past few months. I love you guys! Thank you for helping me be STRONG!

– <3 –
Linds