Ok then, pardon the story but I’ll add in here why I feel qualified to state anything on this matter. Simply, since July, 2001, upon suffering a line-of-duty injury, I have had continuous pain in my dominant hand, multiple surgeries as a result including the loss of a finger and knuckle, went through multiple jobs after having to leave the military, raising a family, trying to get a degree, and then, after I finally acquired the career I wanted in my field without that degree, six months later I was forced onto permanent disability as a civilian. I now have a pump implanted in my abdomen that drips morphine onto a nerve root bc it is the ONLY thing, after 20 years of docs trying every oral med under the sun, that helps the pain. But now, 28+ years later, I thank God I stuck it out with His help and finally have decent pain management that doesn’t include being so out of it that I’m good for nothing at all…
If anyone thinks I didn’t have some depression and feel hopeless more than once through all that, and oh, the injury was just after surviving a war and leaving my 3 mo old newborn son to go do it, then they are sadly mistaken.
So, I’m very familiar with the “bearing one’s cross” analogy, as well as depression, and PTSD from a traumatic burn injury.
That said, the way I have managed to maintain my sanity through the years is realizing the entire time that there are but two choices:
- Gut it out
- Give up,
—and I refuse to ever give up. So there we are. Life doesn’t come with any promises of “easy” and it’s most probable every individual has a struggle. It is walking through the struggle, not giving up because of it, that brings a sound mind and a happier life.
“refined by fire” if you will is how I think of it…
