No Guts No Glory

     When I first stood up after being told I had a stroke, I had a fire in me, a drive to never let this thing kill me, eat me up. Slowly as time passed I notice severe challenges, too many to count. Sometimes when you face so many obstacles you become numb and when something happens on top of all the challenges you either break or you simply say "c'mon, bring it on!". What will one more obstacle or challenge do, so you pick up your sunglasses and you smile look up and say "Never ever give up!". You come to a conclusion or an epiphany and  set your goals and pursue them no matter what. You refuse to settle for second best or for that matter what ever else, it isn't about perfection or not accepting yourself for who you are, it is just a matter of overcoming what life throws at you and maybe, just maybe you want to be stronger in the end. I don't like to give up and all through history great people never quit. I thank God I am still alive and now I want to inspire others instead of sitting around and sulking about what I have or may not have. Life is short and it is definitely beautiful, so live it to the fullest under Gods grace. Well that is my thought for the day and I hope you will look at your impossibilities and live beyond your limitations. Here I am running my 15th city and I am out of money, and I have petitioned almost every company possible for support, some say "yes" then back out while others don't give me the time of day. Just because 200 people refuse that doesn't mean there isn't 1, just 1 that will take me in and believe in what I am doing. If anything happens I have gotten thicker skin and I really am learning how people tick.

     It really boils down to how you see things, how you approach the race, the goal! When everything else fades, your mind needs to be steadfast and secure on what you believe is possible, inevitable. Then you train your heart out and fight for every step, go past every hurdle and live the dream. Remember nothing is worth its time unless you have to fight for it!

Those little moments

     Today at the gym a wonderful lady was exercising and she was very overweight, she looked very uncomfortable so I told her that I had a stroke and had to learn everything again. Her eyes widened as she watched me lifting my toes to the bar above me. Then I told her this "kudos to you for coming here and taking a big step and you know what, the battle is all in your mind. I fought long and hard to get where I am and I just focused on the goal and pursued it and you can do the same!"
   
     Then a different lady came up to me and said "That was really kind of you to say that, that really moved me, thank you" You never know who is listening and what you can do for others if you just give from the heart. We sometimes become so occupied with our end destination or goal that we leave everything that is beautiful behind. Why not embrace every step along the way and make others happy while you do it. It is worth it if you try. Maybe some hidden treasure will be found in the process, a gem that will keep a smile on your face for years to come :)

Hunger

   I lived in my car for sometime due to contractors lying and cheating me out of wages so their sons could drive bmw's etc. Well I didn't get paid and slept through an entire winter in a car. I often woke up because of the chattering of my teeth, I ate small amounts of food that my soon to be wife gave me (an apple or an orange, maybe a banana) She took only food that was her own and then shared it with me. Some nights were beyond bareable and so I slept during the day when the sun was out. My girlfriend  was going to school at the time and while she was in class I would sleep in the main study hall. I was a very broken person back then, disheartened by those who lied and those who withheld due wages. In fact I remember my stomach hurting so much that I often thought of eating garbage just so I could get by. Well right across from me was a food dispenser that I often stared at but had no money to purchase food for my hunger, late one afternoon I saw a few women from my girlfriends dorm room tipping the machine so they could get candies and food just for the sake of it. They thought it trivial and erroneous to believe they were stealing and for some reason felt it was humorous to take what was not their own. As they walked away they chuckled at the thought of their actions and that they had the money to purchase but instead took what they felt they deserved despite the lack of hunger.

    

     I never forgot that day nor the hunger that constantly burned in my belly. I questioned Gods kindness and mans mercy but I knew that in those moments that God was digging deeper into the very depths of my soul, telling me with memories that hunger is but a moment but honour is a lifetime. Don't forget that every action you do has an indescribable reaction. You can chose to have a photo album of memories worth smiling about, looking back knowing that you put your faith in a God who remains strong through even the roughest times. I am no special person by any means but I do believe that Christ has created in me a clean heart, to worship him, to live for him, to run for him, to be all the things that Gods heart spurs me towards. Late one night as I was shaking from the cold a security guard took notice to my predicament, he invited me to his office and gave me hot chocolate and 10 dollars. We spoke and laughed for a brief time, I forget the words he spoke but I never forgot his kind smile and giving heart. We all have an opportunity to be the light that everyone so desperately needs, sometimes it's like the break of dawn, shining beautifully as it rises and other times it just a brief light to guide the ship home from rough waters. After that winter and others I had experienced in hardship I never forgot the value of people over objects. Christmas is a time of giving from the heart not the wallet, a precious star of hope guiding us to a promise much bigger than ourselves.

The Rest Of Your Life

Pain tells me on a regular basis that it feels that it governs who and what I am, what I should accomplish and how far I should run or what I should strive for. Little does it know that I am chiselled, shaped and molded for something bigger than myself and so I consider it mute, daft and useless under the greatest earplugs ever made, hope! So why not live a life that is memorable and profound, embrace every step and live beyond the average! You can do it ;)