Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Don't give up...

by B Hicks

As we pulled up to the arriving pickup area at the Jacksonville airport, I realized how disappointed my 19 year-old Marine must be feeling.  We had driven 4 hours to pick him up in the middle of the night.  Just two weeks earlier, while in training in N. Carolina, he watched with a flashlight as a brown recluse spider crawled on his hand during a night exercise.  The bite he received that night became horribly infected and after many attempts to treat his wound, he was plucked from his training and underwent emergency surgery. What an emotional let down.  He was just two weeks from graduation but instead he was flying home for 30 days to recover.

Healing from our past takes time.  Old patterns of behavior don't correct themselves overnight.  It takes work, dedication and healing to not run back to familiar behaviors.  We can't just move past or get over childhood wounds and traumas.  We must commit to working through them.  In recovery and life we will have disappointments and setbacks.  The disappointments of why is healing taking so long?  Or when will I ever feel normal or have a normal life?  These are the same questions my son is asking about his healing but I remind him...this is temporary.

Choose to believe with me that roads on this adventure are temporary.  Unfortunately, the road to freedom doesn't come without pain.  But, I can tell you first hand, it is well worth it...to live in freedom.

My son will return back to camp on September 8th and finish his training.  This setback will not keep him from reaching his goals.

I encourage you, don't give up!  Reaching your goal is possible.