{"id":4951,"date":"2015-12-14T17:50:11","date_gmt":"2015-12-14T22:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jennydeupree.com\/?p=4951"},"modified":"2015-12-14T17:50:11","modified_gmt":"2015-12-14T22:50:11","slug":"everything-doesnt-happen-for-a-reason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jennydeupree.com\/?p=4951","title":{"rendered":"Everything Doesn\u2019t Happen for a Reason"},"content":{"rendered":"

A friend posted this on Facebook, Everything Doesn\u2019t Happen for a Reason<\/a>, and I was angry at first, because I don\u2019t believe that things happen at random.\u00a0 But as I read through the piece, the author was speaking about using that phrase to \u201ccomfort\u201d someone who has gone through a big loss.\u00a0 Said in this context, \u201ceverything happens for a reason\u201d is a cruel invalidation.\u00a0 Only the person who has suffered and used it to turn their lives around has a right to say that about what happened.\u00a0 I think that the true reason difficult things happen to us is to challenge us.\u00a0 We<\/span> have the choice how to handle it, we have the choice whether to use it for new growth, turning our lives around, or to reinforce our smaller self by blaming, or manipulating, or hurting others.\u00a0 The women of Journey Into Courage<\/a> did not \u201clearn compassion\u201d from our experience of domestic violence, as someone in the audience commented after a performance.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 We learned to get stronger, to take charge of our own lives, to find compassion because that was the kind of people we were.\u00a0 Many people who suffer from domestic violence become locked into victimhood, or choose to abuse others in order to not feel the pain of having been abused.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing as dark as night, but nothing so strong as light, and here is the choice, to let it burn out, or bright…\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n