Can YOU Handle It?

Can YOU Handle It?

I was recently asked how I handle everything that is going on in my life. 

Some days this is a tough question to answer, mostly I answer according to who I am speaking with, but overall beside saying "I don't know";  If they have time, I delve into vulnerability, meaning it is my core values of being strong, caring and attentive, I am vulnerable to the world around me.

Being vulnerable means putting myself out there. Not what people think or want me to be, but who I believe I stand for and what my morals are.

I'll admit I don't exercise so physically strong isn't what I mean by being strong. To me it is the strength to get out of bed and show up for myself in wanting to help people be the best they can be, after suffering the abuse they endured.

Caring, it is because I feel people deserve a chance to be heard and understood, we may not see eye to eye, but I try to give them the benefit of doubt while we converse.

Lastly, attentive, my husband dislikes the fact that I am very attentive to what is going on around me, he also relies on me for paying attention. Either way it is just part of who I am.

So let's go back to being vulnerable, many of us feel that being vulnerable is a sign of weakness, actually quite the opposite is true.  Being vulnerable defines what we are passionate about, it can also create our purpose in life.

Let me explain, many of you have heard part of my story about being brought up around sexual abuse and how I was used by my adopted parents and their sons.  I am not proud of it, it is just a fact. Abuse was all I knew, I was ashamed of who I was and what I became. I wallowed in depression and attempted suicide about a dozen times.

I kept thinking that there has to be more to life then just going from one bad relationship to another. At least as an adult, I was able to leave one bad relationship, and jump to another, I did find a "somewhat" good man who treated me well, but wasn't going to leave his wife for me.

After that relationship it dawned on me on what I want to commit my life to, but didn't know how to get there. It reminds of the saying "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear."

That is when I met my current husband who "showed" me that we can make life what we want it to be. It took us awhile to settle in and devote our time to creating an formidable plan, that we both live by.

It was me opening up about my abuse, granted he didn't understand right away; because he never "went" through the pain and abuse I endured. Yet, he stuck by my side "For better or worse", which we endured hardships, yet realized life is too short to live in the past.

It was because I opened up about my shame, and abuse, I opened up about my vulnerabilities and we worked on it discovering "our strengths as a team.

So whether or not "You can Handle It", is totally up to you. Your biggest asset in becoming who you were meant to be by finding your purpose, and creating a team to help you achieve your dreams. It is not really whether you can handle it, it is HOW you approach how you handle it.

Prayers,

Mandie