As I've said on so many occasions, "In God's Economy, nothing is wasted." It is no wonder that God aligns our lives in such a way as to design Higher Constructions of Consciousness, targeting the Highest Good (Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven).
In the book I recently published, I did not want to reread and edit many of the events I wrote about because objectivity was difficult. I just hope the writings make sense to people in a way that brings healing.
I know this will sound odd, but I think we all have Sacred Contracts and God Calls those of us who are STRONG to endure the most pain. We are not strong like the world defines strong, but strong in our capacity to endure our own vulnerability without giving up.
Writing helped me, some privately and some publicly and mostly through poetry penned in darker days, to survive deep angst. The poetry was for me and it made little sense to others or even myself, but it helped me prevail, to not give up.
I immersed myself in prayer and pain, reading and writing, for 3 1/2 years. It burned away everything this world had to offer, leaving behind love, only love.
That is not to say I achieved sainthood or some silly thing. Being human, I experience plenty of "moments" when I don't measure up to anything remotely resembling a Role Model in any classic sense.
For me, the greatest Role Models are the REAL people who struggle and still love.