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Topic:
How Hope And God Work In Adversity, Part 2 Of 2
There is a woman who lives in the Midwestern U.S.
who is disabled. We will call this woman, Sally (not her real
name). Sally is a pretty, outgoing, positive, upbeat woman. When she was
a college student, tragedy struck. In a freak accident on a college
outing, she became paralyzed from the neck down. Many months of rehab
followed extensive stays in the hospital. Confined to a wheel chair,
Sally could have given up. After all, any hope she had for a normal life
had been torn away. Confined to a wheel chair, Sally could have
spent her life in darkness and hopelessness. Everyone would have
understood. However, Sally did not quit living. She went back to
college, finished her undergraduate work, then went on to graduate from
law school. Even if her body was not working like it should have been,
Sally was still alive as a person. Instead of locking onto a hopeless
and helpless lifestyle, she has become an advocate for the disabled. She
exposed herself and her disability publicly to advocate for the rights
of the disabled. She exposed her disability in ways that produces an
embarrassment and humiliation only others who are disabled truly
understand. She has humbled herself before people so others can benefit.
She has inspired others by her life and sacrifices. She has sensitized
others who do not have disabilities to the difficulties of those people
who do have them. As inspiring as Sally has been, there is more to this
story than meets the eye. The darkness that invaded Sally's life did not
go unnoticed. There were fundraisers held to help with her hospital
expenses just after the accident. Other people made gestures of kindness
that would not have been made had it not been for Sally’s adversity.
Good, kind, ordinary people were given a chance to give away hope and
the Light because of her. In giving away hope and the Light, these
people got the Light back, although getting the Light back was not their
intent. People who would normally lead quiet lives were mobilized to
help Sally. Like the stone dropped into the quiet pond, the rippling
effect of Sally's life has touched thousands, and those persons so
touched have touched thousands more. When Sally's life is done and she
is freed by God so she can inherit a new body, she will be shown how her
pain, sacrifice, and darkness touched thousands of other lives. She will
also be shown how those lives touched others. In Heaven, she will see
how her life rippled out into the unseen realms of heaven, across other
realities, and into the heart of God. From Heaven, Sally will see there
is more going on in life than we can understand with our limited human
minds. Sally is one of us who God has called upon not just to seek out
hope and the Light for herself, but to be Light and hope to others. Not
everyone is called to be Light and hope in the way Sally was called.
However, we are all called in some way. When we respond to the call to
give away hope and the Light, we gain hope, love, knowledge, wisdom, and
power over our adversity or inner opponent. It is often out of the
darkness we find the brightest Light and strongest hope. Here is a truth
that is hard to bear for any person in any adversity or for any person
who supports a person in adversity. The truth is this…the world can
become a better place because of the adversity or darkness in any person’s life.
Other people have fought back against their own darkness because Sally
fought her battle. People, who under other circumstances would have
languished in despair, now persevere against their darkness because
Sally persevered against hers
If these words have been a blessing to you please forward
them to a friend.
These words were posted at one of Shepherd's Care Ministries Sites
called Wisdom Moment. This site is located at:
http://www.findthepower.com/wisdomminute
Shepherd's Care Ministries Main Site located at:
http://www.findthepower.com/ |
