Paul Smith inspires many despite his disability. From Wikipedia:
Smith was born in 1921 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He suffered from severe spastic cerebral palsy from an early age. The loss of fine motor control of his face and hands made it impossible for him to attend school—or even eat, clothe, or bathe himself—and also made it difficult for him to express himself.
Early in life Paul discovered the typewriter and a technique for using it to create pictures. He was able to use one hand to steady the other and thus press the desired key. He was creating typewriter art from age 15, and steadily refined his technique.
Paul passed away in June, 2007, but he will always show us what is possible when a person puts their mind to something that others said would be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.
Here’s a list of the things that I’ve found have controlled me at some point in my life.
Money
Seemingly obvious, money does influence many people, especially those in decision-making positions of leadership. When Jesus said that we can’t serve both God and mammon (money), He wasn’t kidding. We do stupid things for a couple bucks.
Parents
No matter what age you are, many would have a hard time disappointing Mom and Dad over something small. You might even hear your Mom’s voice in your head before making an important decision. Those who labored to raise us have tremendous weight in our lives. And some of us never grow up because of it.
Relationships
What would you do for love? The truth is, we’re all looking for love and meaningful relationships in life. And when we find them, we don’t want to fail them. And sometimes, we allow ourselves to be ruled by a few significant relationships in life. You might even have made a few important choices based on what a couple of these friends were doing at the time. Relationships can be a great thing in our life. It can also be the source of the biggest pain we can ever know in this world. And when we get disappointed by one of them, it can be tramatic.
My Past
This ties in with the last one a little. You let your past control who you become. History does have a way of repeating and we often end up making the same mistakes more than once in life. Some people have a really difficult time letting go of what the past was. And I’m not just talking about past failures or pains. I’m also talking about success. We can really fixate on significant moments in our past to define who we become in life. This is not good. But it’s a reality.
Social Acceptance
Want to disappoint everyone? Try winning the approval of everyone and you’ve found the secret. That’s right. Seeking approval from everyone will eventually lead to disappointment and despair. So, what can we do? Disappoint a few people just to win a few others’ approval? Maybe. But then you’ll feel guilty for letting the others down. It’s a miserable cycle.
Anger & Emotions
It’s truly amazing and disturbing to see the world events escalate based on a few people’s angry emotions. Anger does something to a person that can easily become contagious and spread like a wildfire. Get a bunch of angry people together, and watch a riot break out. One decision rooted in anger can change the course of your life or someone else’s life in an instant. Do not let your anger rule you.
The Spirit
There’s only one thing that I’ve allowed to control me that has produced strong, life-changing, positive results in my life. Namely, surrendering to the Holy Spirit. Every other thing on this list has left me feeling more insecure, lonely, inadequate or… angry. The Spirit works from the inside-out. Most everything else works opposite that to try to change our circumstances. And none are permanent changes. The others are cyclical and temporary. Learn more about the Spirit in your life today.
Tonight, Kristen Jane Anderson shares the things she wished she knew before making a destructive decision that nearly cost her life. Her book, Life In Spite of Me, can be found here.
1. The Gospel. Having grown up in church much of my life, I never heard what it meant to have a relationship with God.
2. Depression – how common it can be, as well as the triggers, the signs, and how easy it is to fall into a depression.
3. I was suicidal. I thought about things normal people wouldn’t think about.
4. My mom and even some of my friends didn’t have it all together or figured out.
5. Isolation breeds depression.
6. I didn’t have to keep so much of the stress and pain I was feeling to myself. I especially wish I would have shared it with my parents.
7. My parents weren’t trying to hurt me at all. They just wanted to help me.
8. It wasn’t my job to protect my parents.
9. There were really good youth groups at churches nearby that I would have enjoyed being a part of.
10. It would get better, that it always does, and that God had really good things planned ahead of me. (Jeremiah 29:11)
11. God was near, that He cared about me more than I could have ever imagined (even about the little things), and He seriously wanted a relationship with me.
12. The blessing of the body of Christ, the friends, the leaders, and the music. I didn’t know what I was missing
13. Although Jesus had never sinned, He could sympathize with my weaknesses. (Hebrews 4:15)
14. Jesus didn’t come for the healthy. He came for the sick. (Mark 2:17)
15. The power of God, the Bible, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Moment of Hope | 2 Corinthians 4:18 – “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Often, our perception of situations or events guides our choices. But we often don’t see things as clearly as we’d like. Take a book of optical illusions. At first glance, we see a bunch of wavy or straight lines that don’t look like anything. You have to change how you’re looking at the picture to see what’s really there. Life is a bit similar. We have a perception of reality and the way things ought to be. This passage is all about looking at situations through God’s eyes. He has a plan for all of it. Ask God to help you see things the way He sees them. It’s your moment.
“If they’re anything like me, we don’t know what real love is and we’re searching for it.”
Jenna spent 7 years in the porn industry, appearing in over 300 films. Porn destroys lives, relationships and marriages. But God restores. There is hope. There is freedom from this addiction. Learn more about XXXChurch.
