Thankful For What You Have

I was born with a condition called Spastic Paraplegia or in my case Familial Spastic Paraparesis.  This is a condition that is a progressive weakness and stiffness of the legs ("National Institute Of Neurological Disorders And Stroke", 2014).    There are days when I can hardly move because of the stiffness in particular and the pain that comes with it.  It is a progressive condition that, even at this point I sometimes need the assistance of a cane, will eventually need the assistance of a walker or wheelchair.  The important thing to do is to stay active and try to keep the muscles in my legs strong.  I try to work out or go for a walk as much as possible. 

Now you may be asking yourself, why is he telling us this?  I want you to know this because all of us have something that we battle.  There are obstacles in our lives that we have to try to overcome or just accept.  These can be either physical or emotional obstacles.  They can be obstacles that we brought on ourselves, someone caused it, or something that was completely out of our control. 

The easiest thing to do is to run and hide or look at these things as negatives in our lives.  We focus more on the obstacle and the more we focus on it, the bigger it seems to get. 

Lately, I have been doing a lot of thinking and considering the obstacle in my life.  I was reflecting on something that happened to me many years ago.  I was invited to go to a camp for disabled children when I was about ten years old (http://www.camprotary.ca/index.php/en/page/home).  It was one of the most eye opening experiences I have ever had.  I saw kids who were in wheelchairs.  There were kids who were mentally disabled. There were kids who were blind, deaf, or who couldn't speak.

After going to this camp for a few years, I realized that I was not as bad off as I thought I was.  I still could not do what all my friends could do, but there were plenty of things I could do.

This brings me to my main point.  I have recently been thinking about my condition and today as I was walking down the stairs to get some water from the kitchen, I began to thank God for all the things I can do.  I took my focus off all the things I can't do and began to realize I can still walk and talk.  I began to praise God for all the things I can do. 

The problem is that we often times look at the things we can't do and think we are disabled either physically or emotionally.  You are extremely able to do more than what you think you can do.  Stop focusing on the things you can't do, and start focusing on the things you can do.  God has given you abilities and strengths, utilize them. 

In the parable of the talents, the master gave ten talents to one servant and five talents to another servant and one talent to another servant.  The servant who received ten talents doubled his talents.  The servant who had five talents doubled his talents.  The servant who had one talent looked around at all the other servants and said I better hide this one talent because it can't do what the ten or five can do.  Could it be if the servant who had one talent had taken it and began to work with what he had that perhaps he would have tripled it or done even more than that? 

So the next time you start thinking of that obstacle in your life, turn it around and begin to thank God for the things you do have. 

References:

 

 

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2014). Retrieved from

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/hereditary_spastic_paraplegia/hereditary_spastic_paraplegia.htm