The thing about change is that it's inevitable. But mindset doesn't waver without your consent. We can all choose how we think and what we say and how much energy we put into something. And at the beginning of the day, I was confident and really thrilled to be going on some rides. But when I actually was just about to go on, my thoughts went from 'can', 'thrilled', 'confident' and 'willing' to 'judge', 'worry' 'but' and 'change'. Instead of realizing my fears and tackling them, I wallowed in them, ignoring my true mission - to inspire and
be an example to those around me, watching.
On the ride, as the speed increased, I suddenly understood this and shifted my thinking. I smiled big and decided to scream in joy as the centrifugal force threw Dylan and me to the side of the seat. "I think my liver
ruptured!" He screamed, laughing.
"And I thought the trampoline was fun..." I replied, panting as the ride slowed. "Oh, thank God..." I said, tugging at the bar. The child in front of us turned and lifted his finger, pointing behind us. The ride picked up and started circling... "B--backwards!?"
Later, on the bus ride home, I drove up onto the bus and parked next to another wheelchair similar to mine. The man in the seat was very sweet and nothing but all smiles when he saw me board. I couldn't help but notice the two big oxygen tanks hooked to the back of his chair, the tubes crawling up over his
ears and into his nostrils. His eyes were soft and I sensed the tenderness in his heart straight away.
He began to talk to me about what he does for a living, "I've been an advocate [for Cerebral Palsy] for 30 years," he proudly announced, "I love helping others." As we continued to talk and farther get to know one another, I admit to having my eyes smart and tear up, listening.He had difficulty talking, and here I was answering him swiftly with no hesitation, I had a pair of strong lungs and legs that walked as long as I could hold on to something. But he was smiling and weathering the storms. He said he was hit by a car a long time ago while trying to cross the street in his power wheelchair. The wheelchair saved his life... Internationally legendary writer, Laura Ingalls Wilder always remembered her mother telling her," it takes many people to make a world."
If you surround yourself with wonderful people who love God and love brightening up the day, you'll find that your world is worth it and that the people who live in it with you make it a little less harder to be in. With God, anything is possible!!