Like a lot of people, I am afraid of spiders. A tiny spider skittered across my desk only to be crushed by my workpapers as soon as I noticed him out of the corner of my eye. Every morning when I get into my work car a beautiful, complex spider web stretches from the driver’s side mirror to the door. Using my key, I slice it right through the middle out of fear of the fella being blown into the vehicle by the wind and landing in my hair. Despite my efforts to destroy the spider web every morning, I return to find another web built in the same place.
- My son knew what he would face each and every day over the last year and a half of his life – routine and pain. He knew he would have to deal with pain most of the day but he still didn’t complain or become angry. I rarely remember Christian feeling sorry for himself. He continued to read until his arm became too tired to hold up his iPhone and he made the best choices he could for his health until the end.
Imagine going through all of the effort to create something so complex and beautiful, only to have it destroyed 24 hours later. Once I really started to think about what this spider was doing, I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen in my own life if I had the same resilience and determination as this little eight legged critter. Most of the world’s greatest inventions were created out of failures – the telephone, the boardgame Monopoly and cures to diseases. What about people who have to endure several rounds of chemotherapy, knowing after each one what they have to face and that it can make them feel worse each time?
What are your dreams and goals? Are there ways you can prepare for these dreams by doing a little each day? I hope to write a book one day that will hopefully inspire people, especially those living with the daily challenges and heartbreak of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Sharing my thoughts and my heart with readers on my blog is one way I am preparing for my dream. I have wanted to give up more than once – doubt, fear, a tight schedule, or when I just can’t seem to get my sentences straight. Two things keep me going – hope and love. I have hope because I know that God helps us become all we can be in life, especially when we can help other people. I also know that anything that is done with love in our hearts will ultimately succeed, no matter how many attempts it takes. Love is all that matters and is contained in all things, even the spiders.
*note – I had a little trouble with the caption above but am posting regardless. I apologize if it looks odd. We keep on keeping on right? xoxo
The road less traveled 