I never have had an excuse to say things like “It is too hard” or “I am just gonna give up”. I grew up with parents who had polio when they were young. This left them with some pretty big disadvantages in life, but they did not allow those disadvantages to stop them from doing pretty much anything that they wanted to do. My father just retired from teaching at the college level. He types with his mouth and drives with his feet. My mother walks with crutches, is blind and does pretty much everything a house wife needs to do. She retired a few years ago from a secretarial position that she held for many years. Up until now, I have only had little bumps in the road to cause me to rethink my life and how to handle obstacles. Becoming legally blind, about two years ago, was by far the biggest bump I have hit as of yet, but the lessons learned from my parents are the same. If I had to say it in one sentence I think it would be: Adapt to your problems and rely on God for your needs. Adaptation has meant reading with special equipment, using specialized computer programs, using a talking tape measure, learning to do tasks in the shop more by feel, learning to rely on others when I can’t see the details, and more. God provides me the hope and strength to keep on doing the things I need to do. He really doesn’t give us anything that we can’t handle with His help. I am learning what all of that means more and more each day. Truthfully, the only other option I can see is to allow our circumstances to control us and give up. The statements may seem cliché, but they are true nonetheless. Life is short. Live each day to the fullest. Everyone has something in life that they need to adapt to at some point. The choice is ours. Keep pressing forward or sit down and give up. Don’t give up.
