I have a friend who is physically hurt right now. He is one of the sweetest people I know, which is weird because he is a police officer, and police officers have a solid reputation of being @$$holes, especially in the city of Chicago. A few months ago, my friend responded to an armed robbery call and after that call his life would change forever.
The suspect attempted to get away, and while doing so tried to run him over. His hand went through the car window and severely damaged his right hand at the point in which the hand meets the arm -- a crucial area on our bodies. The ligaments running through his hand were deeply cut and he has nearly lost the function of his right hand -- his dominant hand.
Growing up an athlete, even playing football in college -- quarterback at that -- the thought that he cannot be as active as he once was pains him, but nothing pains him more than the thought that he will never fully recover and his hand will never be the same; his life will never be the same.
Yesterday, he went to a different doctor than his main doctor to get a second opinion about the state of his progress and he, again, was given heart-breaking news. He would not only need two more surgeries, but this doctor is also uncertain to whether or not he will fully recover and gain the full function of his right hand. Of course this was painful news; any bad news relating to our health certainly jolts our nerves. He didn’t want to talk, in fact, he was being mean, but I knew that this was so unlike him, so I backed off and gave him his much needed space.
I let him wallow in his thoughts, because, honestly, that’s what he needed to do. He needed to have a minute where he felt sorry for himself. A minute to see his future flash before his eyes. A minute to reflect on his life thus far. After leaving him alone for a little while, I crept over to my phone to send him a message. I told him I was going to send him a picture and that I wanted him to make it the background on his phone.
The picture I sent him is the one shown above, and the message I sent him is below:
Although I am far from financially stable, these are things that make me feel extremely wealthy. I don’t have a lot -- okay, I have a lot of shoes -- but in the grand scheme of things, I have so much. In fact, I have too much. I have health! Health, alone, is something people fall to their knees and pray for all day, every day!
Just last week my mother was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. That news hit me like a brick wall. I can’t even imagine what it felt like for her to hear those words roll off of her doctor’s tongue. Hearing news like that is scary when you grow up thinking your mother is Superwoman. My mom is a soldier. I mean, come on, she made the monsters get from under my bed, out of my closest and out of my room, and she made torturous nightmares fade away. She’s invincible! Or so I thought…
People like my friend, and my mom, and that little boy with wet eyes and no hands remind me of how incredibly lucky I am for the life I have. It’s not perfect, far from it, but it’s a good one. And I know it shouldn’t take other people to remind me of how blessed I am, but the truth is, it does.
If you have a friend who is down, remind them of how blessed and loved they are, because one day you’ll need to be reminded. I have to remind myself of that every day, and more importantly, we have to remind each other of that!
The suspect attempted to get away, and while doing so tried to run him over. His hand went through the car window and severely damaged his right hand at the point in which the hand meets the arm -- a crucial area on our bodies. The ligaments running through his hand were deeply cut and he has nearly lost the function of his right hand -- his dominant hand.
Growing up an athlete, even playing football in college -- quarterback at that -- the thought that he cannot be as active as he once was pains him, but nothing pains him more than the thought that he will never fully recover and his hand will never be the same; his life will never be the same.
Yesterday, he went to a different doctor than his main doctor to get a second opinion about the state of his progress and he, again, was given heart-breaking news. He would not only need two more surgeries, but this doctor is also uncertain to whether or not he will fully recover and gain the full function of his right hand. Of course this was painful news; any bad news relating to our health certainly jolts our nerves. He didn’t want to talk, in fact, he was being mean, but I knew that this was so unlike him, so I backed off and gave him his much needed space.
I let him wallow in his thoughts, because, honestly, that’s what he needed to do. He needed to have a minute where he felt sorry for himself. A minute to see his future flash before his eyes. A minute to reflect on his life thus far. After leaving him alone for a little while, I crept over to my phone to send him a message. I told him I was going to send him a picture and that I wanted him to make it the background on his phone.
The picture I sent him is the one shown above, and the message I sent him is below:
Be grateful and appreciate the life you have because there is always, always, someone who has it worse than you. Do you see the hurt in that little boy’s eyes? He has NO hands! Live for him. I know your reality is painful right now, maybe even hard to believe, but life is so beautiful, and you have so much to live for! Keep praying! And be hopeful that you WILL heal and return to 100% health. Have faith! Miracles are commonplace when you believe in the power of God’s love and grace.Everyone has a tough life in some regards, right? But in my opinion, we are all so lucky to be alive. I know I complain about my life -- I won’t be a hypocrite and say I don’t -- my life can and does get challenging, extremely challenging; but the challenges I face on a daily basis pale in comparison to the challenges others face minute by minute. I have a home. I have family. I have friends. I have food. I have health. I have love. I have an education. I have faith. I have God.
Although I am far from financially stable, these are things that make me feel extremely wealthy. I don’t have a lot -- okay, I have a lot of shoes -- but in the grand scheme of things, I have so much. In fact, I have too much. I have health! Health, alone, is something people fall to their knees and pray for all day, every day!
Just last week my mother was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. That news hit me like a brick wall. I can’t even imagine what it felt like for her to hear those words roll off of her doctor’s tongue. Hearing news like that is scary when you grow up thinking your mother is Superwoman. My mom is a soldier. I mean, come on, she made the monsters get from under my bed, out of my closest and out of my room, and she made torturous nightmares fade away. She’s invincible! Or so I thought…
People like my friend, and my mom, and that little boy with wet eyes and no hands remind me of how incredibly lucky I am for the life I have. It’s not perfect, far from it, but it’s a good one. And I know it shouldn’t take other people to remind me of how blessed I am, but the truth is, it does.
If you have a friend who is down, remind them of how blessed and loved they are, because one day you’ll need to be reminded. I have to remind myself of that every day, and more importantly, we have to remind each other of that!
No comments:
Post a Comment