Let me be the first to tell you: sacrifice sucks. I don't think anyone ever wakes up in the morning thinking "gee, let's see what kind of sacrifices I can make in my life today." That's just the nature of it. It's painful, it hurts. It makes you feel the sting of loss.
Some people get lucky. Whatever cosmic balancing force is out there has decided that their "cup of gall," to wax Biblical, shouldn't be too bitter. I guess lucky is as good a word for it as any.
Some people get hit with the proverbial shitheap. Trial after trial after trial, sometimes back to back without any breaks between them. Looking on as a casual observer, it makes you wonder who they pissed off last time around.
I've had the chance to spend time with people from the second category. They are quite possibly some of the most amazing individuals that I have ever been privileged to meet. They have an inner strength that has been tempered in grief. The strongest kind. Life kicks them in the teeth, and they still smile. I envy these people, if envy is the right word, because they stand tall through storms that would leave me broken and weeping.
Remember that. Personal hardship can break a person. When you find someone whom it hasn't, watch them. Learn from them. Perhaps they can show you something that you missed.