My other option was to vigorously fight the dehabilitiating effects of depression, rage, pessimism, and the plaguing thoughts that I could not move forward with my life unless justice was served and certain persons were punished for their offenses. I do believe on the one hand that if Justice can be served by the Law in a State for crimes committed against a victim, then it should be wisely pursued before other innocent people are victimized by criminals. However, in some of the various situations I faced, evidence was lacking and/or the statute of limitations would have impacted matters. So the State could not prosecute, and filing a Civil Lawsuit would not have been fruitful.

There is no guarantee that when Justice is served and a criminal is punished that a victim and/or his family and friends will feel better anyway. Many victims and/or their families and friends have found that even after a trial is over and the criminal has been found guilty and is sentenced that they do not have a sense of satisfaction that they thought they would experience. The most common reason given for this is because they cannot get back what was taken, and that is because there was a LOSS of something important or the LOSS of someone who was valued.

Coming to grips with a LOSS and/or surviving any type of tragedy is a very hard thing to do. But I am here to let you know that it was well worth my fighting all of the negative emotions and thoughts, because one-day I woke-up to feeling alive and having a renewed sense of hope and peace. It took a few years of struggling, learning and growing to reach that place, but it was worth it.

Inspirations that helped me to find the daily strength I needed during that time was the love of God, loving my spouse and watching him stand by me through a terrible time, loving my children and wanting to become a positive person in their lives, deciding to reclaim my life by refusing to not allow the offenses and offenders to get the best of me, regular visits with a Christian Psychologist, reading passages from Proverbs and Psalms, reading other self-help books and learning new coping skills, following the 12-step program that AA uses, (which is good for anyone recovering from anything and not just alcoholics), engaging in arts and craft projects, and taking anti-depressants as prescribed and needed.

My life is not perfect, but it definitely has become enhanced. I still have physical, mental and emotional challenges, and sometimes the old, negative thoughts, emotions and memories try to take-over my day again; however, I fight to not allow them to seed and to take root.

May you and/or your loved one, who might be struggling right now, find reasons to move forward with life. My prayers are with you to find comfort, peace and a renewed will to live, with love and peace being a part of your everyday life!