Let me tell you, dear reader, this is crap. I did not need a guy in my life, I didn't need a relationship, and I didn't need those toxic people I surrounded myself with. And what I'm trying to do here is tell you neither do you. You are complete on your own. You are fulfilled without another person

Let me be clear: Divorce was never, ever an option for my husband and me, nor was it even in our lexicon. But there was a time in our marriage when tensions were high, feelings of affection were low, and things had generally broken down. Communication was terrible, and we had ceased assuming the good intent of the other. For my part, I had lost respect for my husband, whom I felt was not "a real man" (gosh, it's hard to type those words!).

Not long after that I woke up with severe cramping. My husband had already left for work and I was completely alone. The cramping would come and go, and it would feel like the pain experienced during childbirth. There is nothing in the world that will ever compare to that physical torture, but the mental pain of knowing what was happening and the spiritual pain of feeling like God had abandoned me was crushing.

Suddenly my brain felt different – I was convinced I had run someone over. I remember looking in my mirror and seeing nothing but darkness behind me. I arrived home and felt like I had left my body and entered into a new, worse, version of it. That was the first time I can remember experiencing OCD...

When I reflect on one of the darkest, most difficult times of my life, I’m brought to a time when I experienced multiple miscarriages. I’ve always been a health-conscious person, trying to eat healthy, exercise, and find positive ways to reduce stress. So, when I became pregnant, I eliminated alcohol from my diet (I was an occasional drinker), ate healthy foods, and tried to get adequate sleep. I thought that if I did everything within my power, my babies would have the right foundation from the very beginning. So, as you can imagine, after losing pregnancy after pregnancy, I was left with despair, heartache, and fear.

With that being said, in order to understand why we suffer, we must understand why God suffered on the cross. We’re created in God’s image. So, we must look at his image of suffering to understand our own.

Does this mean men have an excuse not to attend, get involved, or raise their families in the Faith? Absolutely not, in fact, the opposite is required. Sometimes we must look at the positives that shine through the difficulties.