“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will
have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world “
John 16:33
Men and women who make changes in history are those who have come against the odds and told the odds it is impossible for the odds to stop them. Don’t throw yourself away—don’t let anyone else throw you away because you are up against some odds.
The minute we see somebody in a wheelchair something happens to us. We think the person is half a person. We almost treat him as if we apologize for his condition. We look at people who are blind…who have a withered hand…who walk with a limp…who have only one arm as though they are half a person. We limit their potential to the wheelchair or the limp or the missing hand or the short arm. We reduce everybody to their bodies. You are not your body. Some of the greatest minds in the world are in wheelchairs.
I think about President Roosevelt in a wheelchair. Did you ever think an invalid could be the president of one of the greatest nations on earth?
Suppose you end up in a wheelchair next year with all the brains you have right now. Will you quit? Is your dream related to your body? Don’t say “no” too fast. Some of you would just quit and get totally depressed and so sad. You’d say, “Oh, life didn’t work out for me,” and you’d allow all the dreams you have right now to die in the chair. You’d simply quit.
Don’t give up because you are physically handicapped. Don’t give up if you are facing great odds. Your potential is not determined by whether you can see the fine print of a book, walk across the street or lift heavy objects with both hands. Your potential is not destroyed because your mother is an alcoholic, your father’s a junkie or you have no parents at all. There are many people in wheelchairs who have given up. There are many people who come from the wrong side of town or a bad family situation who have given up. Don’t be one of them. Beat the odds.
Suppose you end up in a wheelchair next year with all the brains you have right now. Will you quit?
