“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny”
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
I heard this quote the other day and although it came from a Hollywood movie and not C.S. Lewis, it still brought chills to my arms. It made me think of my husband and his life. For those of us who came from stable families, we can’t truly comprehend the word, “hardship.” We all have dysfunction in our lives, we all have deep burdens that we carry but with families that love us, we will never truly understand what it’s like to be a child of the foster care system.
My husband was born with a high fever, it’s a miracle he survived. He lived a dark life of turmoil from parents who were addicted to drugs and alcohol, to being the caregiver for his younger brother and sister. At age four he entered the foster care system. He languished there for a year until a kind foster family took him and his siblings in. They spent another two years in the system.
When the courts terminated his parent’s parental rights he was adopted out. From an abusive past he was thrust into a world of emotional abuse and hard discipline. He dealt again, with parents who suffered from addictions. With gambling debts, mental health illnesses and unloving attitudes, he continued to be the support system for his siblings.
There was nothing fair about his life. He didn’t choose to be born into the world he had and he certainly had no say when it came to placing him with unstable adoptive parents. He joined the Navy after High School, being told it was the only choice he had. He was told he wasn’t smart enough to handle college. He was told he had no money to succeed.
Despite the adversity and a lifetime of odds consistently being stacked against him, he strove to be the best person he could be. He vowed to make a stable life for himself. He fought and he excelled! He received an honorable discharge after serving his country. He fell in love and started a family. He went to college and earned his degree. He taught himself to build websites and write code, simply because he wanted to see if he could! He loves despite the lack of love he was shown. He has God in his life. He helps others. He uses his words and actions to make a difference. He rose from the ashes, to a man with a successful career and people who love him. Fear doesn’t dictate his life. He chose to not be a statistic. He has never lost his faith.
His extraordinary destiny is still unfolding, formed by hardships and fulfilled by grace.
