Don’t Let Your Issues Define You

For a long time I just lived with that. These days I do something about it. I drink more water than I want to, most days I would rather have a Dr Pepper. I spend hours a week in a standing frame, get a massage a few times a week, and take a handful of vitamins every day. None of it is fun, and none of it makes the chair go away. But the rough days come around a lot less than they used to, and I believe that is God providing for me, a little more of what I need, every single day. I wrote more about all of that in I Feel Better at 47 Than I Did at 30. On a good day, I barely think about the chair at all. On a bad day, I struggle just like everybody else. I just don’t let it own me. On bad days I have to remember one simple thing.

I was put here for a reason.

I believe in God and I believe that God put me here in this chair for reasons I may never understand. That said, the chair gives me a perspective on life that not many get. I’ve never thought of myself as an inspiration. I believe there are many other people out there who are more worthy of that title, people serving in the Armed Forces, for example. However, I also understand that everything I say and do has a profound impact on the environment around me. I don’t think of myself as inspiring, but if my chair and the way I live helps you to improve your life in some way then I am honored to be a part of that.

We all have issues. Your issues have made you the person you are today. Like it or not, our issues mold us into the people we are. For a lot of us they make us better. If you’re reading this you may be struggling right now. I want to tell you, you can survive. You will make it through. When you do, you will have a story to tell. That story will profoundly affect someone struggling and you will change someone’s life.

I would love to see this blog become a community where people can talk and share and help others through whatever issues they may have.