Suffering

As I've indicated in my profile, I am a reader. Most of my reading is light hearted, although every once in a while, I pick up something of "substance". Courtney had to read: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl for school. After she finished it, I asked if I could read it, which I am in the middle of right now. I came across the following passage which touched me. If you don't know, Viktor Frankl was a survivor of the concentration camps. We could all learn something from his will to survive.

"...When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his task; his single and unique task. He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in this place. His unique opportunity lies in the way in which he bears his burden.........."

The last sentance is what jumped out at me. I continually believe that they way in which each person handles adversity, defines them as a person. I have told Courtney and Brandon from day one, that because of Mike's illness, we can sit back and moan and groan. We can have the "poor me" attitude and be angry at the world, but I advised them against that. There is so much suffering in the world and we are no different than anyone else. Mike's illness DOES have the ablity to make us better people though. We have become united, more compassionate and understanding of others. We have come to realize what is really important in life. We are stronger people because we have not used Mike's illness as an excuse. We've embraced it as a learning experience and we continue to get through each day because of our faith.