ob•sta•cle : something that impedes progress or achievement
Every difficulty in life presents us with an opportunity to turn inward and to invoke our own submerged inner resources. The trials we endure can and should introduce us to our strengths.
--Epictetus, Greek Stoic philosopher (55AD–135AD)
My life has revolved around obstacles; small ones, and some not-so-small ones. Did some knock me down? Definitely! I am thankful I worship a God who doesn’t mind my questions; He is even patient with me when I get angry at Him. That in itself has been therapeutical.
Obstacles are a part of life. We have two choices when faced with obstacles – fall to their mercy or overcome them. I have chosen the latter. People who really do not know me only see me from the outside, they see the limp, the slowness and they see it as a limitation, a weakness. I’ve dealt with the judgments many times—did they hurt? Absolutely. I've felt hurt. I've gotten angry. I've felt insulted. I’ve wanted to react. But I know that if I had just reacted, I woud have let myself down. That is not me. That is not who I want to be and I realized it’s human nature to have the doubts that they had – I don’t blame them for those thoughts- not at all. So, thankfully, I've just let it go (after much venting with family and friends). They are just more obstacles. They are just more incidents of people not knowing what I am all about and not taking the time to know me. But they have made me stronger.
They don’t know the Myra who has never known what a day without pain feels like, who has never known what it was like to just go for a walk, who has never known what it feels like to run and jump with my baby girl, who has never known what it felt like to NOT deal with stares from people wondering ‘what is wrong with her?’, who has never known how it felt to answer the question from a curious 5 year old ‘what happened to your leg?’, who has never known what it felt like to just pick up her little girl and swing her around and just carry her without having to sit down to do it, and most importantly who has never known how to accept someone telling me I can’t do it (I have to find out for myself if I can or can’t). They don’t know the Myra who has “never known” any of the things listed above, but still gets up every morning to enjoy the things that she can do.
I can get up and go to my job, I can get up and hug my baby girl, I can get up and say I carried that baby for nine months – I did it. I can get up and live a life that is “normal” for me. I can say that I have the BEST family in the world. And I can absolutely, without a doubt, without hesitation say I am BLESSED. I, to this day, have not let an obstacle BEAT me, and nobody should ever think that I will EVER allow something or someone to impede my progress.
I leave you with the following chorus to a song that is very dear to me:
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain
~Bring the Rain~
(MercyMe)
Every difficulty in life presents us with an opportunity to turn inward and to invoke our own submerged inner resources. The trials we endure can and should introduce us to our strengths.
--Epictetus, Greek Stoic philosopher (55AD–135AD)
My life has revolved around obstacles; small ones, and some not-so-small ones. Did some knock me down? Definitely! I am thankful I worship a God who doesn’t mind my questions; He is even patient with me when I get angry at Him. That in itself has been therapeutical.
Obstacles are a part of life. We have two choices when faced with obstacles – fall to their mercy or overcome them. I have chosen the latter. People who really do not know me only see me from the outside, they see the limp, the slowness and they see it as a limitation, a weakness. I’ve dealt with the judgments many times—did they hurt? Absolutely. I've felt hurt. I've gotten angry. I've felt insulted. I’ve wanted to react. But I know that if I had just reacted, I woud have let myself down. That is not me. That is not who I want to be and I realized it’s human nature to have the doubts that they had – I don’t blame them for those thoughts- not at all. So, thankfully, I've just let it go (after much venting with family and friends). They are just more obstacles. They are just more incidents of people not knowing what I am all about and not taking the time to know me. But they have made me stronger.
They don’t know the Myra who has never known what a day without pain feels like, who has never known what it was like to just go for a walk, who has never known what it feels like to run and jump with my baby girl, who has never known what it felt like to NOT deal with stares from people wondering ‘what is wrong with her?’, who has never known how it felt to answer the question from a curious 5 year old ‘what happened to your leg?’, who has never known what it felt like to just pick up her little girl and swing her around and just carry her without having to sit down to do it, and most importantly who has never known how to accept someone telling me I can’t do it (I have to find out for myself if I can or can’t). They don’t know the Myra who has “never known” any of the things listed above, but still gets up every morning to enjoy the things that she can do.
I can get up and go to my job, I can get up and hug my baby girl, I can get up and say I carried that baby for nine months – I did it. I can get up and live a life that is “normal” for me. I can say that I have the BEST family in the world. And I can absolutely, without a doubt, without hesitation say I am BLESSED. I, to this day, have not let an obstacle BEAT me, and nobody should ever think that I will EVER allow something or someone to impede my progress.
I leave you with the following chorus to a song that is very dear to me:
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain
~Bring the Rain~
(MercyMe)
