Erin Goodson looks back on her life and said, despite the struggles, it has been a good one.
"If you live your life with a purpose then you'll be much happier and you'll understand that the struggles weren't purposefully targeted it to you," Goodson explained. "It was for you to testify for god's love for you."
At 27 Goodson lost her husband, Kyle, to cancer.
Life, she said, could have stopped then but it did not. She knew that she had to push forward.
"After his passing, I was able to move on very quickly because I grieved the entire process of his illness," Goodson said. "Whenever he passed away it was more of a relief for me to be able to move on to normalcy."
That did not mean that she did not struggle. Since she was a teenager, Goodson had dealt with mental illness.
"I started with bouts of depression when I was in high school," Goodson said. "In suffering with depression I became addicted to Ritalin and in my husband's death I became addicted to Xanax. I needed this magic pill to constantly pick me up or settle me down."
For years, Goodson said she worked to get a handle on her illness. She tried medications and therapy but it was something at her fingertips that sent her in the "write" direction.
"I've been much happier," Goodson said. "I have a story of widowhood, facing judgment, and moving on. I really had to work on myself before I could change to be better and let go of all of those things that were intoxicating my soul."
Today, Goodson is happily married again. She and her husband have blended two families and continue to help others who be struggling.
"I realized that I did not need to be a victim to my circumstances," Goodson said. "I realized that it was god's purpose for me to go through certain struggles. I had to realize that he was faithful to me the whole time and I just needed to reach out to him."
While life is not always fair and can deal some pretty devastating blows, Goodson said it is how you handle it that makes you who are in the end.
You can find more information about Goodson on her blog at: https://eringoodson.com/blog/