Innocence, Adversity, and Enlightenment

My early childhood life of innocence began while growing up on a tenant farm in a rural are. The farm work itself was very labor intensive and usually had daylight-to-dark responsibilities.

That early lifestyle was really a time of secure innocence. However, when I was about twelve years old, that security began to change when I began experiencing a life-changing adversity. I began having seizures. Those dark and dreadful episodes periodically occurred for decades. Because of them, I experienced processes of losing my innocence. As a result, my life developed into an ever-growing sense of shame, humiliation, isolation, and a declining sense of self-worth. The emotional pain and adverse events resulting from those seizures continued for many years. I wanted to be like others, but I couldn't!

After several years of those troubling experiences, I came to the realization that while I couldn't change the realities of my life, I could attempt to alter myself in other ways. The years of successfully developing those alterations required several processes that resulted in a transformation of enlightenment and fulfillment of my life, which ultimately led to a tremendous professional career. As a result of having experienced those life-changing processes, I now have a spirit of thanksgiving in my heart, along with peace, joy, contentment, and a wonderful sense of self-worth-the most enlightening experience of my life on this earth will further lead to the ultimate fulfillment of eternal life on the New Earth described in the Bible.

Adversity can result from experiencing difficulties related to health, socio-economic disadvantages, addictions, and other personally damaging issues. However, don't let yourself succumb to any measure of adversity! You don't have to have a perfect body nor do you have to be born into a life of privilege to develop areas of improvement in your life. Begin anew!