There’s a phrase “we all have our crosses to bear”. I’ve heard it many times, & yet only recently have I really stopped and thought about what it actually meant. Obviously, there is the religious connotation to it, but more over, it suggests that we all have our paths to walk and our journeys to follow but sometimes we just have a heavier load to carry as we do so. 

    What is it that determines our life’s path? Why do some people have what on the surface may appear to be relatively “easy existence”, & others live lives fraught with stress and turmoil? 

    A friend of mine recently had a baby and was very apprehensive about the birth process as this was her second child and during the delivery of her first, she had several complications. We talked about how there was a better than good chance that things would go just fine & everything would be smooth sailing.     

     Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. The good news is, both she and the baby are doing well now (all things considered), but it was a bit of a scary time immediately following the delivery. I know that these things don’t happen at random or for no reason, so even though I’m not sure why they do, there has to be a purpose to it all. 

    Or another girlfriend of mine who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer at 35. She is the mom to three young kids. It’s an awful lot to take on. But again, nothing happens without some bigger meaning that way, and I know she’ll take this situation and do something amazing with it. 

   My dear friend Sally, who has suffered more loss than any one person could ever fathom in a lifetime has often repeated the adage, “we are never given more than we can handle”, to me. I suppose that is absolutely, 100% the truth. 

    But is our destiny predetermined before we ever step foot on this Earth? And do we only walk the paths that we know we can safely make it down? 

    I once had a nurse when I was in the hospital leave me an incredible poem when I got out of surgery and returned to my room. It was one of the most amazing things I’d ever read and the fact that she thought those things about me was enough to brings tears to my eyes. It was the most inspiring thing and just made feel that resolve to pick myself up, & keep walking. Knowing that whatever road I was meant to walk down, someone believed in me and my ability to do it. 

    As the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche so wisely said, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” And luckily that is a very “GOOD THING”.