Hope

I love seeing the sun's rays burst through clouds or tree branches. It gives me hope and helps me remember what's important in life. It reminds me that I'm not alone. 

I love the picture above. I found it on Pinterest a few months ago, and I thought it was perfect. I wish that everyone who has ever or will ever go through a trial could see this and remember the truth of it when things seem bleak. End points always seem afar off when you're going through a rough patch, but I know that the difficult times we experience eventually WILL come to an end.

Here's a hopeful tidbit:

Knowing that there are wonderful blessings to come in the next life makes enduring today's hardships just a little easier and oh, so worth it! I also like this scripture found in Psalm 30:

Nothing lasts forever. It may be sooner or may be later, but all pain and suffering eventually comes to an end.

A picture of my niece Kate illuminated by the early morning rays. Not the greatest photo, quality-wise, but not too bad for an iPhone.

The Perks of Paralysis

Being paralyzed has lots of negative emotional/physical side effects on your mind/body, from things like depression and kidney stones to the relentless nerve pain that is ever present. It's not all bad, though, and there's even a few upsides to paralysis. I'm a firm believer that there are positives to be found in every situation, no matter how bleak. I thought I'd make a little list of some of the perks of paralysis in order to prove my point.

1. Not ticklish:  I've always hated being tickled. Now that I'm paralyzed I'm no longer ticklish. I actually did a little experiment and I had Chandra tickle my stomach. I could feel her wiggling her fingers on me, but it didn't make me laugh like it would've before I was paralyzed. 
2. Handicapped parking:  it's so nice to have disabled license plates that allow me to park in handicapped parking. It's close and convenient!
3. My shoes never get dirty and never wear out:  I only wear shoes if I'm going to in public (which is just once or twice a week), so my shoes don't get a lot of use. I don't walk around, so my shoes stay clean and never get dirty. I could probably wear the same pairs of shoes for the rest of my life if I wanted, but what's the fun in that it?!
4. Fan mail:  I love, love, LOVE getting emails from people, telling me what they get out of my blog and what they think of specific posts.
5. The kindness of strangers:  over the past 10 years I've had lots of experiences where perfect strangers have been so kind to me. It's usually something simple like a smile or someone holding a door for me, but it's always very refreshing.
6. Getting nearly all of my prescription medication for free:  I'm on a bunch of medications and it would cost a pretty penny (hundreds and hundreds of dollars each month) if I had to pay for all of them out of my own pocket. Thank goodness for insurance!
7. I can spend my days doing what I want:  most days I'm able to stay at home and I have all day to basically do whatever I want (which happens to be using my computer to work on different projects). It's so nice to have the luxury of doing what I want to do and not having to go out and a living. I can spend my time doing the things that bring me joy.
8. I can buy pretty much whatever I want (and I do!):  I am by no means well off, but I do have everything I need and I'm pretty much able to buy whatever I want without having to worry about how I'm going to afford it. (There's obviously lots of things I'd like that I can't afford, but I know that, so I don't feel like I'm going without, if that makes sense.)
9. Never having to help with chores:  I'm obviously off the hook when it comes to helping with chores. (Although I would be more than happy to help out if I could, because believe it or not, I've always actually enjoyed cleaning.)
10. Never getting sore feet:  I never have to worry about my dogs barking anymore since I can't walk/stand. I remember how badly my feet used to hurt after working an eight hour shift where I was on my feet pretty much the entire time. (When I first started working at the movie theater my legs/feet would just ache after standing on a cement floor for hours and hours. Gradually, my feet got more accustomed to standing for long periods of time, but would still hurt at the end of the day.)

I know I'm a "glass half full" type of person, but I think there are positives to be found in every situation, no matter how difficult it is. I think you'll be able to find a few perks in your own challenges/trials if you look at the big picture. And if all else fails, use a little humor and creativity!

Curveball

Life can be pretty unpredictable. Just when your life is going well and you think you have things under control, something unexpected comes along and upsets your best laid plans. Whether it's something minor like traffic or long lines at the grocery store or something major like becoming disabled or being diagnosed with an illness or disease, just about everyone can relate to having to resort to Plan B.

I've found that Plan B isn't always so bad. You might have to adjust a little (or a lot), but if you roll with the punches you might learn something valuable that makes you a better, stronger person in the end.

Don't be so hard on yourself; you're stronger than you think! It's easy to look at someone experiencing something challenging and say, "I could never do that!" As a whole, I think people are much more resilient than they give themselves credit for. You might not want to do something difficult, but find that you're capable of doing some pretty extraordinary things if/when push comes to shove. I know from my own personal experience that if you would've asked me before my accident if thought I would be able to live this sort of life, I would've said, "No way! Just let me die because I can't/don't want to live that way!" Thank goodness I wasn't asked to make that decision before my accident, because I'd be missing out on a really great life!

One more pearl of wisdom: it's how we react to life's minor and major inconveniences that makes the difference. I think how you handle problems really says a lot about your character. When minor annoyances arise I just try to remember that it's really not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. And when I've been confronted with major obstacles I just try to remember that those challenges are molding me into the kind of person God wants me to be.

Be Still and Know

When I was going through the process of having my custom blog design made a few months ago I tested out tons of different fonts as I tried to settle on just the right ones for the look I was envisioning. There are lots and lots of fonts out there and each one has a name so that it can be kept straight. Some font names are quite unique, like "Veggieburger," "Return to Sender" or "Strawberry Limeade." (I promise there's a reason why I'm talking about font names, so just bear with me!)

My older sister Sharon was in town visiting when I first started toying with the idea of hiring someone to give my blog a facelift, and we spent lots of time on the Internet looking for different ideas. After the ball was rolling I consulted with Sharon every step of the way because it was nice to get her thoughts/opinions on how things were progressing. One of the fonts I considered using (and ultimately decided to go with as the font for the title of each post) is called "Be Still and Know."

Sharon loved the name of that font and kept thinking of it in relation to me and my unique situation. I'm physically STILL and spiritually/emotionally KNOW so much since my accident has taught me many valuable life lessons. Sharon suggested that I should use the font title "Be Still and Know" as inspiration for a blog post. Since the 10^th anniversary of my accident is coming up later this month on the 17^th, I thought I would write a series of short posts focusing on some of the things I've learned as I've journeyed down this road of paralysis.

You will be able to access all of my "lessons learned" posts by clicking on the green "Be Still and Know" button on the right side of the page. Stay tuned…

Peyton's Clever Costumes

Yesterday my friend Kate sent me a link to an article about the McCubbins family and their 12-year-old daughter Peyton who has a condition called schizencephaly. She's in a wheelchair and it is physically similar to someone with cerebral palsy. Each year Peyton's parents always make a special homemade Halloween costume that is built around her wheelchair. The costumes are quite elaborate and very creative.

In 2005 Peyton was Princess Jasmine on a magic carpet and in 2006 she was Cinderella:

In 2007 she was the Little Mermaid and in 2008 she was Pebbles (and her little brother was Bamm-Bamm):

In 2009 she was a biker and in 2010 she rode around in a chariot:

In 2011 she was Santa and in 2012 she was Batgirl (and her little brother was Captain America):

This year she was Princess Leia in a landspeeder and her little brother was Luke Skywalker:

The whole family:

I'm glad that Peyton's family always goes all out for Halloween to make it a special experience for Peyton, and I like how they've often included her younger brother. What will they come up with next year?!