I oftentimes find myself inspired by other people’s stories. Not necessarily stories of weight loss, though there are certainly a few that have impacted me.
But what I’m talking about are stories of real people who face life with heart and courage. People who give texture to the human experience and make me wonder, “what can I do with my life to make it worthwhile?”
Those stories are out there, you just have to look for them.
One of them is Katie, who gave up everything to move to Uganda and love orphans, and widows, and the poor, and the sick. She let the town drunk move into her backyard and tended to his burn wounds, which were so infected and severe that doctors said he would lose his leg. More than 200 days later, the skin had grown back, and he was healed. Read her story here.
Rick Hoyt was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy when he was born in 1962. His parents were advised to institutionalize him because he didn’t have any hope of recovering or living a normal life. But his parents had other plans. They took him home and dedicated themselves to raising Rick as normally as possible, making adjustments where they were needed. Rick went to school, graduated from college, and in 1977 told his dad that he wanted to participate in a 5-mile benefit run for a Lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. After that run, they were hooked, and in 2006 they competed in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship. When they run, Dick (the Dad) pushes Rick in a special chair; when they swim, Rick is pulled in a raft that is connected to a vest his Dad wears while swimming; and when they bike, Rick rides in a special chair attached to the front of his Dad’s cycle. You can watch the video here.
And this sweet, sweet girl is Kate. I first learned about her a couple years ago when someone I knew was battling cancer. Kate has childhood cancer, and yet she continues to be a blessing to those around her. Her parents were able to celebrate a clean scan this month, showing no signs of new or recurring tumors. Their story is full of pain, the kind that requires moment-by-moment faith, and when I read their updates, I am also reminded how precious life is. How fragile, how fleeting.
I am grateful for reminders like these that our days are not to be taken for granted. That our health and mobility is a gift so many don’t have.
You can follow me on Twitter @PFG_Elle
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“Lord forgive me when I whine, I have two feet, the world is mine.”
If you don’t know this “prayer”, look it up at
http://www.1wayup.org/whine.htm
I remind myself daily that my obesity was something I did to myself. Now that I’m on my journey, I want to share it with others and help others get to it and get thru it as well. I’m trying to be support and motivation for friends and family to get healthier.
I may not be able to do much, but I’ll do all I can…
Thanks for the great post. When we are working on “me”, it is very easy to get ego-centric. Remember to look up and see who else can benefit from your new outlook!
Lovely post. I think it’s important to put things in perspective and evaluate what’s really important. These stories definitely help us be grateful and inspired to do more.
All wonderful and inspiring stories. Thank You for sharing.
We all need those reality checks to reign in our whining; me most of all. Thanks for sharing this.
The love of my life told me this weekend, as I lie in bed sick all day, to be thankful. I was upset because I was not taking care of my children; I missed them and felt very guilty for not spending our Sunday together.
He said to me, “Think of the terminally ill mother lying in bed today. She will never get up again. She will leave her children before the year is out. Be glad you have the flu.”
My whining slowed after that.
Really puts things in perspective. Thanks for sharing.
I love when I read posts like this. It makes me remember the most important things in my life. Everyone has their own “tough situations” they’ve been through and I’m no different. Posts like this make me go back and think about the hardest time in my life, kidney failure and subsequent transplant, and if I can get through that, I can get through anything!
Thank you for reminding us to take the time to think about what’s really important.
Beautiful, inspirational stories – thanks so much for sharing them!