Every morning I wake up to the sound of birds singing. It is always around 5:00 in the morning. I lay there and just soak in the sound. It is my very favorite sound of nature. That is when I tell my Lord, with my bird friends, “Good Morning. Thank you for another day.” Then I go back to sleep. This is not vain repetition. I am truly so very thankful for each day the Lord gives me.
The other day, while speaking to around 200 high schoolers about brain and spinal cord safety, a student asked a wonderful question to my friends and I who were presenting that day. He said, “I know there are a lot of negatives in your life because of your paralysis, but is there a positive?” What great insight! Yes, there are positives. Your priorities change dramatically. Your values change dramatically. Your pettiness changes dramatically. Your appreciation for life changes dramatically. Those are all wonderful positives!
I know that it is only God that allows me to draw my very next breath. It is God who has a plan and purpose for my life. It is God Who was not finished with me 6 years ago. The same neurological disorder that hit me so quickly that day could have easily taken my life…had that been God’s plan. But it was not His plan that day. I have never hungered more for life than the days and months that followed that were so terrifying. After not being able to leave my home for almost 3 months after the birth of my baby, the beauty of blue skies and flowers were overwhelming to me. I never appreciated them more.
I have a very tiny tolerance for those who are weary of their lives here. I am not trying to be judgmental but it hurts me to hear them grunt and groan through their daily lives. Do they not realize how precious it is? Do they not realize how many people are clinging to just one more day?
Please don’t tell me I don’t understand. I do. Daily life is no walk in the park with paralysis. But even on my very worst days, I am still so thankful that I have days.
Today is my 38th birthday. I am THRILLED to be a year older! I love it!! Every single day…every single year…is a precios gift from God. I am so thankful for that.
It is the best birthday gift ever!
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