Is trauma also our training?

 " You can never change the past . But by the grace of God, you can win the future. So remember those things which will help you forward, but forget those things which only hold you back" Richard C. Woodsome

You cant be pitiful and powerful at the same time. This is something that has kept me going when i was tempted to fall into self pity, remembering to not give into despair. I simply let the tears come when they need ed to and wash my soul in them. I once observed that standing in the warm rain was like a baptism in my own pain, the warmth of the spring rain can be refreshing because pain passes as the rain does. Then the sun comes, and with it rejoicing.
The bad things we go through can serve as oppurtunities for growth, they actually help us understand life better. To help us see what happens when we actually welcome what happens as life lessons. Not a pit to lose our faith in, but a way to go to the next level. The wounds we carry that are healed end up as scars upon our souls. Not as reminders of our victimhood, but of Gods faithfullness.
Trauma can become the means by wich we are prepared to do miraculous things, meaning greatness often comes out of tribulation. This is also the power of personal choice, what we do with our past often impacts our future in significant ways.
We should never give up on ourselves, this is a temptation ive faced many times, to surrender to despair. To use pain for a crutch and limp along through life. But thats not the way to live in abundance. Theres so much more in life if we look past our pain and into the future with hope.