Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ. 
 It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  
And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
 who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Life has given many of us some extremely challenging circumstances.
After surviving our childhoods, here we are...adults!  And many of the coping strategies we have employed to make it this far are maybe not so appropriate anymore.

"I have been crucified with Christ."
In the summer of 1981, I put my faith in Jesus as my Saviour.  I accepted His gift to save me and I changed.  Did I really understand what being crucified with Christ meant?  Not fully.  But as I learned more about Him and studied His Word, it became obvious that I had some growing up to do!  My life was not my own;  I was learning how to pray and seek His will.  I stumbled along and He was faithful to give me direction even when I had so little understanding and experience.  Jesus has been so good to me!
"It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."
If only I could have grasped this, I may have realized the strength I had with Christ living in me.  The emotional reactions I had to being corrected, criticized or openly ridiculed were crushing to me and I had no defenses except to build walls and become self-protecting.  I thought being "tough" would keep pain away.  Then as a Christian, I thought being "nice" was the only option I had when life became hard.  My feelings were often hurt but I didn't know Jesus would bear that for me.
"And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God..."
So here I am in 2015, having walked with Jesus for over 30 years and I am still learning what it means to live by faith.  I am being transformed by the Son of God dwelling in my heart, renewing my mind, re-making me into the real "ME" I was created to be!  I still have the flesh, the body that I was given.  I still have the flesh, the sinful tendencies and weaknesses that I was born with.  But faith makes all the difference.  I am not stuck with the walls, the self-protective defenses I created to survive.  As I trust in Jesus more and more, He teaches me how to work through pain, respond differently to those who hurt me , with grace and forgiveness and often truth that I must speak out with courage.  I have to crucify the old ways of coping in order to allow Christ's ways to work.
"...who loved me and gave Himself for me." 
Today, I stand on the promise of Christ's love for me.  He gave His own life for me.  He took my place on the cross to suffer the punishment for my sins.  So the least I can do is live my life, crucified.  Dead to my sin.  Dead to my selfishness.  Laying it all down for Jesus.  Doing, serving, being what He asks of me.
The least I can do...
I am not my own; I am bought with a price.
I've been purchased with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
All my sins were paid by His sacrifice -
Hallelujah to the Lamb who redeemed my life.
~author unknown