Really? Is there a scale to measure this? I see the struggles, alright. Have I gained any strength from them, though? All I know is.........I'm still here. Does anyone else feel this way?
I am a mother of five children, four of which are adopted, and I am about to adopt my two grandsons. How did I get here? I wrote and published a book a few years ago, called, Seven Rhinos, One Family's Story of Their Journey Through Adoption. In it the reader follows the story of how each of our children came to my husband and I. The reason for the title was it described, perfectly, the thicker skin we seemed to get through each experience, preparing us for the next more challenging to come. Each adoption certainly brought another adventure, bigger than the last. In the beginning of the book, I added a particular meaningful quote by Ralph Parlette.
" Strength and Struggle travel together.
The supreme reward of struggles, is strength.
Life is a battle and the greatest joy is to overcome.
The pursuit of easy things makes men weak. "
Many times I've referred to, and leaned on this quote throughout my adulthood. Yes, I can say, strength did come. I HAVE recently journeyed through another of life's "battles;" that is certain, and, by no means was it "easy". Where is that strength, now? If I were to be truthful, I feel rather like the wounded on the side of the road, waiting for the good Samaritan to stop and nurse my wounds.
Given the recent experiences of this 2012 year, it's become clear to me, life is fragile; we aren't guaranteed tomorrow is ours to spend on earth. If, by chance today were my last, at least one more story is left to be shared. It could, in fact, be the following of Seven Rhinos.
AN APOLOGY - July 1, 2012
From here, each post will a new and separate.
I am a mother of five children, four of which are adopted, and I am about to adopt my two grandsons. How did I get here? I wrote and published a book a few years ago, called, Seven Rhinos, One Family's Story of Their Journey Through Adoption. In it the reader follows the story of how each of our children came to my husband and I. The reason for the title was it described, perfectly, the thicker skin we seemed to get through each experience, preparing us for the next more challenging to come. Each adoption certainly brought another adventure, bigger than the last. In the beginning of the book, I added a particular meaningful quote by Ralph Parlette.
" Strength and Struggle travel together.
The supreme reward of struggles, is strength.
Life is a battle and the greatest joy is to overcome.
The pursuit of easy things makes men weak. "
Many times I've referred to, and leaned on this quote throughout my adulthood. Yes, I can say, strength did come. I HAVE recently journeyed through another of life's "battles;" that is certain, and, by no means was it "easy". Where is that strength, now? If I were to be truthful, I feel rather like the wounded on the side of the road, waiting for the good Samaritan to stop and nurse my wounds.
Given the recent experiences of this 2012 year, it's become clear to me, life is fragile; we aren't guaranteed tomorrow is ours to spend on earth. If, by chance today were my last, at least one more story is left to be shared. It could, in fact, be the following of Seven Rhinos.
AN APOLOGY - July 1, 2012
For any who were following my
blog before and noticed that the two posts regarding “the one more story” I was telling
are gone, I apologize. As important as that incident is to record, it isn’t
just my story; it involves others whose lives could be affected in a harmful
way in the telling. I want to share it, somehow, but only in stating my life’s
portion and dealings of it. Not having written a blog before, and not really being
an active “blog” participator, I hope what I share in my posts will be
appropriate, interesting, and enriching, in this new and different way I
approach it.
From here, each post will a new and separate.
