Everything Happens for a Reason

Do you all believe the statement "Everything Happens for a Reason?" After everything that we have gone through, we have to force ourselves to believe this statement. Jesse and I will be married for 2 years on January 22nd... and let me tell you, these 2 years have not been easy. You would think that by experiencing and dealing with everything that we have- we would just give up. Most people in our situation would probably crawl in a hole and never come out...I only say that because there have been many times when I have felt like doing so. But still, we have persevered through everything from bed rest, hospital stays, wrecks, snake bites, family conflicts, and job loss. Somehow, through all of the chaos, we have found a way to come out even stronger as a couple and a family. Everything does happen for a reason... it's just that sometimes, that reason doesn't "appear" as soon as we would like. Let me explain a little on what we have learned through our experiences. 

Bed Rest & Hospitals: As you all may know, I was put on bed rest for 2 weeks while pregnant with Gabriel. That was followed by another 2 weeks of rest in the hospital. It was terrible. And yes, I mean terrible. I was bored out of my mind. I wasn't allowed out of the hospital walls until my 2nd week there! But, it had to be done in order to allow Gabriel Lee to grow stronger before he made his appearance into this world. Once Gabe arrived,  we spent another 10 weeks in the hospital at Carbondale and at Cardinal Glennon. It wasn't easy by any means. But thankfully, we had a lot of support and made it through. What did we learn through all of this? First of all, that God can work miracles- just look at my baby boy and you will witness first hand a living miracle! We also learned that even through the toughest times the greatest things can happen. Where would we be without that boy to brighten up every single day? And now we know, that in a situation like that, it is possible to overcome. So in the future, if anyone we know has to experience that same thing, we will be able to tell them that one day it will all be better. And that one day, all of the hardships that you experience will only be a memory and to cherish all of those little moments. 

Wrecks: Let me lay it out for you now. When Jesse and I got married we each had a car. I had a practically new Nissan Altima. It was the first car I had ever gotten on my own. My "Adult Dream Car." I LOVED it... and yes, sometimes I still think about it. haha. Anyway, in a very short time we went from having two nice cars to none. Luckily, we had family that was willing to help us out and now we have 2 cars once again. Did we learn anything through this? Yes. First off- to NOT swerve to miss a deer! haha. And most importantly, that you don't have to have the nicest things in life all of the time. You see, I like NICE things and I  like new cars. So this for me was hard to comprehend. But I now realize that it's not all about having the "nicest" of something... it's about having the necessities that you need to keep your family safe and taken care of. 

Snake Bites: Oh boy... do we ever have a big lesson to learn here. I mean seriously, who really gets bit by a snake? Really!? This is one of those situations where Jesse and I literally look back and are like... "Did that really happen?" Yes, in fact it did. I think the biggest thing that we learned was that anything can literally happen at any time. I can't say that we really understand exactly why this happened... at least not yet. It's a situation that I'm sure does have a more significant purpose, but  that purpose just hasn't been revealed yet. 

Family Conflict: Wow... have we ever learned from our conflict. If you have followed my blog at all then you know exactly what I am talking about. I think I'm the one that has learned the most through all of this. It took me a very long time to learn to bite my tongue when I just want to scream. As I have said before, I definitely have not done too well at doing so at all times. I'm still confused as to why someone would literally act as if Jesse isn't married to me and would try to convince him to get a divorce. And I definitely do not understand why someone would not want a relationship with my child. But to each their own, right? I've learned, through all of this, that I cannot change someone to be the person I want them to be. I realize that for some people the only role models they have had in life are people that society looks down upon. I have learned that once words are spoken they cannot be taken back- which is why I chose my words very carefully. I've learned that some women just cannot stand up for their own children for fear of being alone. And I've learned that sometimes, my child is better off without certain people in his life. I think Jesse and I have both learned that we cannot defend anyone when there is nothing to defend and that we cannot always rely on someone who we should be able to rely on. We've definitely learned that some people are just plain selfish and will never fully grow out of it and that some people are just jealous and cannot stand to see someone else's happiness. It's sad, but true. It has taken me a very, very long time to come to terms with these things and I will admit, I am still working on it. However, I believe that these are vital lessons that I have learned so far. 

And Finally, job loss. Jesse lost his job and is now searching for another. It's hard to comprehend and it's something that I still get angry about. But it is what it is and there's nothing we can do to change it. We're forced to believe that this too happened for a reason. Since everything else that we have endured has taught us something, I'm positive that this will also  be a learning experience for us. I have to believe that there are only bigger and better things out there for our family. We may not know exactly where we are going in life just yet...but rest assured that one day, we will figure it out.