Shouldn't I Be Bitter?

Because I was 'ripped' from my country of birth; because I was abused in my first family; because I didn't look like my parents; because I wasn't related to any of my family by blood like my sister; because I was picked on and teased as a kid; because I didn't have the things all the other kids had; because people would stare at me; because people would stare at my family; because my parents divorced; because my dad passed away when I was 18; because, because, because...

But I'm not bitter. The above can happen to people whether they are adopted or not. My birth children didn't decide to be born in the states they were; all of my kids get stared at; my family gets stared at; I still get stared at; people still talk about me behind my back.

I don't define myself as just an adoptee. I don't define myself as just a wife and mother. I am who I am because of all that I went thru in the past, the good and the bad. I wouldn't trade it for the world, even the abuse. I feel that made me the strong person I am today. All the things that happened to me wasn't because I was adopted. It was life. No one owes me anything, I don't need a handout, I take control of what lies ahead of me. I decided long ago that I would live a life of happiness no matter what life threw at me. My story is my story. Everyone has a life story and it matters, it doesn't have to be filled with tragic moments to be interesting. We all go thru our own challenges, big and small, it's how a person decides to deal with it that determines the end of the story.

I don't claim to be the perfect person, I don't strive to be. I am only human, I have plenty of faults and there are days that I feel like screaming. I live my life the way I want to, the way God intended for me to live. He doesn't create the bad things, he prays that I can come out of the darkness and shine onto others. The past few years, I've been lucky enough to shine on others. Giving feels good when I give from my heart. I feel if I can touch one person and that person can live a life of happiness, then I have done God's work.