In the Middle of Difficulty, Lies Opportunity

We all hate difficult situations. They put us in a more than uncomfortable emotional state and make us question ourselves. Questions like.....Am I right? Am I wrong? Am I strong enough to handle this? I've been in this situation waaaayyyyy more than I would've liked, with family, controlling in-laws and my former employer! Yikes! Typically, whenever we experience a hiccup or speed bump in the road, we're supposed to deal with it and move on.....but that's always easier said than done. When the other person or persons are uncompromising to help make the situation better, then what do you do next?

I was in this very situation for 3 years with my former job. I HATED working there! The work I was given was not challenging at all. When I asked for more challenging work, I was reassured to receive more, but there was never any follow-through. I worked for a small company in which there were only 3 female employees: me, a foreigner, and the boss's daughter. She and her dad were never nice to me, which is crazy since he is the boss and bosses should appear neutral to everyone. Anyway, I definitely feel like their treatment towards me was interconnected to the challenging projects, or lack thereof, that I was given day in and day out. Like I said, the company was very small, and now I know smaller companies don't always equal a wider variety of work and responsibilites, but can also equal more time for petty bs.

I wish that I would've listened to that inner voice I had, when I wanted to stand up for myself or when I wanted to quit and had another and much larger company trying to recruit me; but for some reason I thought that staying quiet and hopeful, while hanging in there, would give me more character and teach me how to navigate similar difficult situations. Uh....boy was I wrong! Another year and then another went by, and I just watched my career come to a long-standing, 3-yr halt! I prayed for another company to have an opening or get pregnant.....and a few weeks later, I found myself pregnant! My initial thoughts were "Thank you God!" followed by "sooo, I have to be here for another 9 months?!?" Needless to say....I am now a SAHM! :-)

The opportunities that I couldn't see, while in the middle of my difficult situation, were becoming a SAHM and realizing that the career I went to school for, is not the one that was actually destined for me. I never thought that I would want to be a SAHM, but now I am sooooo grateful that I am and have the opportunity to watch my boys go from babies to toddlers, develop their personalities and watch all of their big 'firsts.' During the time that I plan to be at home and raise my boys, I am going to be finding my true passions and then, switching over into doing something that I love. Right now, I am considering doing activity/program/fundraising planning for a non-profit organization. That way, I can give back while using my technical skills. My new career discoveries are still in the research and planning phase, but I'm definitely excited about the new opportunities! But I'll be at home with my precious little ones for a while longer. :-)

What, if any difficult situations have you had, that ended up working out surprisingly in your favor? How did you handle the difficult situation while you were in the middle of it?