Cloudy skies, roaring thunder, and surging rain are all signs of a storm. These signs can be physically seen before the storm occurs, which warns everyone in the area what's about to happen. Unfortunately, hardships don't work the same way. Without any warning, our world can be flipped upside down in the blink of an eye. I grew up in a loving home, always surrounded by close family and friends. I had everything I could've ever wanted. When I was eight years old, my parents started fighting and I didn't know why. My dad packed up his bags and left suddenly to move away from us. Back then, I had never even heard of the word people call divorce. The divorce wasn't what crushed me to pieces though...it was having to listen to all my friends talk about their amazing father-daughter dates every weekend. It was having to sing in church on Father's Day Sunday when I was the only kid in the entire primary who didn't have a dad to sing to. It was all the father-daughter dances at school that I had to tag along with my cousin and her dad to try and fit in with the crowd. At the beginning of this journey with divorced parents, my younger brothers and I would switch between houses pretty regularly. After dealing with physical and emotional abuse from my dad, I decided to take a step back from him at the age of ten. Shortly after, my dad moved to Florida. He began sending my mom these hateful texts about all the things she was doing wrong in parenting my brothers and me. I had read one of the texts he sent in which he told my mom that she wasn't feeding us healthy enough because we were too overweight. I didn't realize that this wasn't true at all back then, but his comment went straight to my head. I had developed an eating disorder called bulimia in which I would force myself to throw up my meals so I could lose weight. When I wasn't busy throwing up, I was starving myself. I was so persistent in proving my dad wrong that this eating disorder overtook my life for five years. I was trapped in an endless loop of trying to be skinny enough for my dad's approval. I resented my dad for all the pain he caused me, however, my brothers adored him. This difference between us drove a huge wedge in my relationship with my brothers. I had lost my dad, and my brothers weren't far behind. It was at this moment that I had the realization that this wasn't worth losing them to. I searched for what felt like years, trying to find an answer to heal my aching heart. While I had been reading my patriarchal blessing one night, I noticed it said, “overcome trials by losing yourself in service.” This caused me to start looking at my dad leaving as an opportunity for me to take on more responsibilities in my family. As I did this, I saw the burdens being lifted off my mom's shoulders as she'd come home from a long day of working and the housework would already be completed. Learning to do hard things has allowed me to help make the lives of others so much easier. Because of this, my relationships have been strengthened and bonds have grown closer. Discovering the joy in hardships has not only helped those around me but myself as well. These lessons have created a more Christ-centered version of myself.