|
Composer Gian Carlo Menotti said, "Hell
begins the day God grants us a vision
of...the gifts we've wasted, of all we
might have done but we didn't do." Wilma
Rudolph, who won three gold medals at
the 1960 Olympics would agree. What she
accomplished isn't as impressive as what
she overcame. As a child "Willie"
contracted polio and couldn't walk
without braces. Then at age 13 she
regained the use of her legs and went on
to become the fastest woman alive. But
her challenges weren't just physical.
One of 22 children born to a poor black
family, she inspired us by transcending
poverty and racial animosity. She said,
"'I can't' has never been in my
vocabulary." At age two, Scott Hamilton,
another famous Olympian skater, stopped
growing because of a childhood illness
that almost killed him. But his parents
encouraged his rehabilitation by
teaching him to skate - and the rest is
history! In 1976 when Brad Parks was
injured in an accident that left him in
a wheelchair, he strengthened his arm by
whacking tennis balls against his garage
door. Three years later he formed the
National Foundation of Wheelchair
Tennis.
Paul said, "Despite all these
things...victory is ours through
Christ." Rick Warren writes: "Why does
God use our weaknesses? Because when He
does, He gets all the glory. If God only
used your strengths, others would look
at you and be jealous...or discouraged.
But when God uses you in spite of your
weaknesses...they realize 'God could use
me too!' Your weaknesses aren't an
accident. God...allowed them for the
purpose of demonstrating His power
through you." |