It has long been thought that the Gods admire those who persevere. I believe this is very true, especially after what has happened to me over this summer. Since I was 14 or 15 years old, I have suffered with severe acne. You can't tell by looking at my pictures over the last several years because I used the best over-the-counter medication on the market, but even that didn't stop all breakouts. I had to use it every morning and every night, and if I missed a treatment, especially overnight, I risked a resurgence of some sort. My problem continued well into adulthood and I thought I was simply destined to have this skin issue that I would always have to fight. For anyone who has suffered with lifelong acne, they know it's not fun. Your face is constantly oily, cracked, and covered with pimples and bumps that not only make you extremely unattractive, but are very painful many times. Without treatment, your face just feels like a desert or a tarpit that's infected.
Then this late spring and early summer, after using the medication for around 21 years, the treatment just stopped working and my face erupted. The doctor attributed it to the fact that over a long period of time, the bacteria on someone's face can build up a resistance to the medicine. So it was time for me to see a dermatologist, which I promptly did. However, even his prescription strength medicine, by itself, did not do a single thing. After combining it with the over-the-counter remedy, I did get relief, but it was a constant battle both health wise and monetarily, as the prescriptions were expensive even with insurance, and needed to be filled on a regular basis.
I probably don't have to tell you that someone is my position, or with any major health problem, may have a crisis of faith. A lot of people blame the Divinities, even hate or resent them, but no matter how bad my face got, I never did. Even after suffering for almost as long as I can remember being alive, I still loved the Gods. No matter how bad it got, the Gods were the happiness and love I could always experience in my life, and I knew that was greater than any ailment I may have. Of course I wondered why it had always happened to me, but I knew that even though there were things I may not understand fully, the Gods were still there.
Last week, something amazing happened. My acne just stopped, literally. It cleared up and I have not really used facial medication since, which normally would result in severe breakouts by now. I no longer use facial cleanser, toner or repair lotion, which were essential to my skin's health. My face doesn't even produce a lot of oil anymore. You may call it a miracle, and perhaps it is, but this issue that I have fought for over two decades was wiped away, even after its strongest return. I no longer have acne. I believe the Gods found my perseverance, faith and piety to be very noble and admirable, and rewarded me with one of the greatest blessings I have ever had, a life free of acne. There's no other way I can explain it. There's no reason for this sudden shift. Perhaps a change in hormones or something to that effect, but the Gods are able to do anything, including changing my body for the better, and helping me where I had, for so long, tried to help myself.
Don't ever give up hope. Keep going in life.
In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris Aldridge.
