Have you ever
stopped to notice how some people just seem to cope better with life's
circumstances? Is it because they're lucky or is it because they've just
learned how to accept the blessings that life has given them?
Recently
I had a lively conversation with an elderly gentleman; who
out of the blue, began telling me a little bit about his life
story. The dialogue began over a young girl wearing flip-flops in
less-than-warm conditions, and he light-heartedly inquired, "Are you so
poor that I need to buy you a pair of shoes to keep your feet warm?"
Needless to say, he began speaking in a soft tone about his travels around the
world - how at the mere age of 19 he'd served in World War II and had lost his
whole battalion except he and his jeep driver (who were lucky enough to have survived);
how he'd jumped over 100 times from a plane during the Vietnam war in '68, and
about the pride he had in his son, who was now going to be a retiring
colonel in the military. I recall listening to this individual with wide
eyes and an open heart. As he spoke, he had a gleam in his eye and he
never once complained about the troubles he had seen. He was such an
inspiration, in fact, that words escaped me. As I continued to listen to
this apparent widower, who was well into his late 70s, I could feel a sense of
happiness - and a sense of radiance. Suddenly, it dawned on me that this
man was walking with a rolling walker. I guess he noticed my catching
the sight of his walker, when he said, "Yep...I got this when they
had to take half my leg in Vietnam," he continued, "The docs have done all they could for
me, and I'm just blessed to be here today."
The dialogue was
one of those, "I wish you could have been there" moments where
others could have shared in this inspirational conversation. Getting
"past the hard stuff" had apparently been his motto in life; and here
he was today walking with half a leg, and never once blaming anyone or
anything. I imagine that through all his trials, he had never thought of
them as such. Challenges, maybe...but never bad luck. Then I began thinking about how
during the entire conversation, I had never noticed his "handicap;"
presumably because the man never let on that he had one.
You see, getting
past the hard stuff in life is what makes us grow and learn. It's not that
God is punishing us for being who we are - He's merely giving us a push to get
us going to where we need to be in life. I never got the older man's
name, but I assume wherever he is right now, he is glowing in his radiance, and
enjoying the life that God has given him. Shouldn't we all be thankful
for the life God has given us?
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