I wonder sometimes whether God prepared me for the work I do now by allowing me to understand the other side of it first.
I am careful with that thought. After we survive something painful, it is easy to turn the experience into a motivational story. Some losses stay ugly. Some explanations never arrive.
I do know that hardship changes us.
I carried fear, exhaustion, and habits I had to unlearn. I also became better at recognizing certain things in other people. When someone speaks from a place I once occupied, I hear details I might have missed before. I notice when their voice changes. I remember how much dignity matters when a person already feels exposed.
Living through it helped me understand somebody else’s fear better.