when life hands you lemons, make lemonade

and that I know that at times its really difficult to follow that type of mentality and not let what is currently happening to you to let you down. I know its frustrating and at times seems like a better thing to sit and cry or get mad about a current problem. Those too are good "temporary" things to handle a problem, just as long as you dont give up. Truely, what does not knock you down, will only make you stronger. Everything does happen for a reason, and will lead to why you had to go through something in the first place to be able to acheive the second. Like a ladder...always going up.

Here is a storey that someone submitted, shes had it rough, but keeps trucking through, shes got good strength and courage and will see it through. She wanted to share her storey in the hopes that other people will find it encouraging and inspirational, and I have to agree, that alot of people reading it, might be able to see things in their own life, in a different light.

One kick after another.
My boyfriend of 2 years and I decided that we wanted to move out of our apartment and move into a house. One Friday I took a half-day to go Christmas shopping. I decorated the house and was so excited because Christmas was coming. That evening I got a phone call and it was my boyfriend. He said we needed to talk about us. I said what, he said “I don’t want to be with you any longer I’m not coming home”. It was like a punch in my stomach. After 3 years this is how it ends. A phone call. I’m sitting in a house that now I’m going to have to pay for myself. On my own. I kept telling myself it’d be ok. After about 2 months of getting a handle on paying for everything by myself, I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I could do this, I am doing this. March comes around and I notice down in the basement there is water around the drainpipe where my washer was. I called the plumber after 2 days sewer in my basement and no usage of water, he had some bad news. My sewer line had collapsed. Great, I’m just getting by now paying the bills how much will this cost. $14,000!! I think I cried for 2 days. I had to take out a line of credit and that added an additional $110 dollars a month to my bills. Things were looking bad and I knew I was in danger of going under. I kept telling myself it’d be ok. They told me that they wanted to have the work done as soon as possible. The months kept going on and on. I was stressing out, I just wanted to get it over with. Then comes May. I was actually driving to the car wash to vacuum out my car because I had a date with my new boyfriend and I get into a car accident. Not my fault, but I said to myself NO when is this madness going to stop. Almost $3,000 worth of damage. But I kept telling myself it’d be ok. Insurance fixes my car in June; the plumber fixes my sewer in July. Paying my bills was becoming more and more stressful. I kept dipping into my savings and it was almost gone. My job had just let go of 42 people because of budget reasons. I knew I couldn’t lose my job; I’d lose everything that I worked so hard for. I kept telling myself it’d be ok. I looked for another job, and finally 3 months later accepted a position at an accounting firm. That same week, my new boyfriend of 9 months dumped me. If I were a weaker person I probably wouldn’t have pulled myself together enough to mentally start a new job, but I did. I knew, I knew from what I’ve been through in the last year, nothing could truly hurt me. I’ve been though it all, and I was determined not to let anything stop me. Right now I am more comfortable with paying my bills and have even started putting money back into my savings. Tonight I had to get my roof looked at because the borough that I live in coded me for my roof being in “disrepair”. The estimate for my new roof is $3,700 to $4,800. Yes I cried….but I know I can just have that added on to my line of credit. Which will be more money that I have to pay each month……..which we all know times are bad for everyone right now. I know I can do this, and I will. I believe that I can and when I stop believing is when things start falling apart. I wouldn’t change any of the times that I was kicked when I was down. I believe things happen for a reason. Even though most of the time I can’t find the reason until much later or even at all. All along I thought I needed someone to help pay for my house, I thought I couldn’t do this on my own, but I have. I’ve learned that I can pay for a house and a car own my own without any help. I’ve learned that even if something bad happens to the house, I can pay for that too. I’ve learned that if I got into a car accident and didn’t have my car for a week, I’d be ok, my mom let me use hers, even though she lives an hour away. I know that the roof needs fixed now before there is a leak and more damage is done. These things were all fears of mine, which now I know I can handle. I’ve realized that if I didn’t have the sewer problem with my house I wouldn’t have looked for a new job and I would still be at my old dead end job making less money and in fear of losing my job. I kept telling myself it’d be ok. That line keeps the fight in me alive. I know it’ll be ok because I see the positive in each situation. Not a first, but give me a day I come back swinging. Life hands us some hard times and I see this as a test. A test of how positive of a person you are and how strong of a person you have become. And with each kick you become stronger and stronger and you can handle things that you didn’t imagine that you could. Regardless of what your situation is, if you have a goal in mind and remember each day why you get up, and how you’re are not going to let anyone or anything stand in your way of reaching your goal. Yeah you might have to take 2 steps back, make a left, stop to catch your breath, but don’t ever give up. Just remember it’ll be ok. Don’t let anyone destroy who you are and what you believe.
C.B.