Getting to the Other Side of Victory

By Donna Hopkins—

I might have a lot to cry about, but I refuse to drown in my tears. “Getting to the Other Side of Victory,” is a book I wrote for myself first, for my healing, renewing and restoring. Eight years later I’m sharing it with you. I’ve had the time to go through the process of healing myself, physically, emotionally and spiritually, and now I want to help others. 

Life’s path is not always paved with a smooth surface, and it will not always reveal life’s dark moments that await us. Sometimes like it or not, we don’t get to make the call on what we must face in life. All of us are going to face something, knowing how to get through it is vital.

I thought that confronting cancer twice was the most challenging thing that I would ever have to overcome; but without any warning in 2010, I had an unforeseeable medial disaster. A standard routine surgery ended up with the amputation of part of my left leg, in a state of disbelieving, for sure.

When a storm comes in our life, the first thing we must remember is that storms don’t last for long, they come, and then they are gone. The most damaging part of any storm is the aftermath and the cleanup. It is not enough that the storm happened, but it is the effect on one’s life after the storm passes that cause the most damage, harm, injury that carry’s the most profound wounds. 

Thought the depths of what I went through, I pulled from what I knew, see preparation had started long before the storm came in my life. In the process of going through cancer and the amputation, I found out what I was in me. God had placed a reservoir that kicked in at the most crucial times. Quitting on life was never an option for me, there was too much fight in me to live, plus I don’t like to lose. 

I believe that the making of each one of us happens in the process, a new level occurs in the process, another level of faith occurs in the process, and healing comes in the process in moving up to victory. 

It is alright to cry about your circumstances, the devastation, destruction, and adversity sometimes, but don’t allow yourself to fill the river of sorrow with your tears. You must know that you are stronger than any pain that you must go through, the key is to tap into the hidden strength and find what lies at the bottom of your heart that beats life back into you.

Don’t let the thing that you went through be the anchor that keeps you from coming up again. You deserve the right to live again, but it’s up to you to keep fighting. I’m just crazy enough to believe that through the depths of whatever we must go through there is hope; there is joy, there is peace. 

I honestly believe that, while it might not be crystal clear why difficulties happen, they still have a reason that can work for our good if we let them. I was visiting a church one Sunday when something the pastor said caught my attention. He stated that sometimes you have no control over the storm; sometimes storms are essential and needed. We need to stop asking why, but instead look at how we respond during our adversities. He then stated, “We are not called to trust the results we want, but to trust God and his plan for us.”

Many have asked me how I got through two bouts of cancer, the partial amputation of my leg. I merely say, I push ahead and reset. I didn’t look at my circumstance, instead, I focused on one day at a time, one victory at a time in moving forward. I vowed to live life to the fullest and not waste time looking back or worrying about something I had no control over. 

My deep faith in God brought a steadiness in my greatest crises to be an overcomer in getting to the other side of victory.  

Donna Hopkins is a West Virginia native, now living in Washington, D.C. and is a people person, a visionary, a life-giver and a problem solver. She is driven, committed and passionate about helping others. She is the founder/ CEO of non-profit Hopkins Breast Cancer Inc., a public speaker for breast cancer awareness programs, a sports personality, a two-time breast cancer survivor and an amputee.

Donna is on a mission to share her triumphant journey and teach individuls how to reset and tap into their hidden strengths. She tells her story with humor, laughter and passion, and shares with her audience the key concepts she believes will help them reset their lives. She talks about the importance of Getting to the Other Side of Victory and teaches her audience relatable and inspiriting lessons they can apply to their own lives. Her joy for life, understanding of life-challenges and experience with overcoming them, give her the ability to connect with people on a deeper level.  She wants to spark individuals to reach deep inside of themselves and discover what drives them.