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Are You Maimed?
by Chris Umeweni By maimed here, I mean - to disable or disfigure, usually by depriving of the use of a limb or other part of the body as defined by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopaedia. That is to say, I understand how serious what you are going through is. You have actually suffered rejection and dejection. Your leg was amputated and now you walk by the help of a crutch or wheelchair. Perhaps it was your hand; making you not to live like your friends. You move about town with incomplete limbs. It really breaks the heart. Could it be that a toxic chemical spilt on you and caused you that damage? Now you look disfigured that no one seems to regard you. It pains. It could even be because you were defending your country in war that you had to undergo such permanent disablement. Now you sit disabled and watch those you risked your life protecting, live out their lives to the fullest while you sit down disabled and suffering. No one seems to care. No matter how your being maimed came about; whether by accident or perhaps you were born with it, there is something you must understand; that body of yours that is maimed is not really YOU. You must understand that your spirit is the real YOU. YOU are a spirit, having a soul and living in a container called 'a body'. As long as we are here on earth, the body is subject to wear and tear. Anything could happen to it but the spirit cannot be damaged by anything physical. Your spirit which is YOU is always intact. That is why when the body dies, the spirit lives on. The worst thing that may happen to you is that as your body is maimed here on earth, you permit also your spirit to be maimed. "How?" you may ask. A wise man once said, "No one can make you inferior without your consent." That you are maimed is not the reason why you can't live out a fulfilled and joy-filled life. Once your spirit is enlightened, you may not even feel you are maimed because the real YOU has come alive. So, refuse to be pitied for! Those things you have always loved to be or do, you still can. Get books on them and train your spirit by reading them. Listen to tapes and watch videos that concern them. Start doing it, no matter how much you fail; you will later become perfect in it someday. I sat down challenged, as I watched a man on the television one day paint wonderful pictures by supporting the paint brush with his mouth. He was maimed and on a wheel chair. He was unable to use both hands but yet he did what people with perfect hands could rarely do. You needed to see his paintings. They were so perfect! It was indeed a challenge to me. What men and women who were whole in their body could not do, he did. I was so much challenged. This man's secret was - instead for him to sit down at a place and become a burden to his generation, he broke out from his pains and worries of a maimed body and strived to become a solution to his generation. Now, his paintings are highly sought after because of their beauty. To crown it all, he also got married and is living happily with the wife. Listen to me, the things you need in life will come if you refuse to allow what you feel and see on your body discourage you. YOU which is the spirit can and should never be maimed! "Does it mean that God doesn't care about my situation?" you may have asked. My dear He cares. Even the bible says, "God is love" (1 John 4:8). He knows what you have been through and what you are going through and now he is trying to reach out to you by this article. So, your reading this letter up to this part is God's plan of showing you what to do. The bible says, God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. (Acts 10:34,35) As much as God is concerned about those who are whole in their bodies, so is He also concerned about you. What He needs from you is that you acknowledge He is God no matter what you are going through, respect and walk with Him. Surely, He will by His Holy Spirit dwell in you and make you what you actually are supposed to be. He is not a chief justice, a senator, a governor, or even a prime minister that you can't get to Him easily. He is "Our Father" - closer to you than anyone else. I would love to tell you about Nick Vujicic. He was the first born child into his devoted Serbian Christian family. Nick Vujicic was born in Melbourne, Australia, limbless, missing both arms at shoulder level and having one small fist with two toes protruding from his left thigh. Initially, his parents were devastated. However, Nick turned out to be otherwise perfectly healthy. His life was filled with difficulties and hardships. One such hardship was not being able to attend a mainstream school because of his physical disability, as the law of Australia required, even though he was not mentally impaired. During his schooling, the laws were changed, and Nick was one of the first disabled students to be migrated to a mainstream school. He learned to write using the two toes on his left "foot", and a special device that slid onto his big toe to grip. He also learned to use a computer and type using the "heel and toe" method (as demonstrated in his speeches). He can also throw tennis balls and answer the phone (also demonstrated in his speeches). Being bullied at his school, Nick grew extremely depressed, and by the age of eight, started contemplating suicide. After begging God to grow arms and legs, Nick eventually began to realize that his accomplishments were inspiring many, and began to thank God he was alive. When he was seventeen, he started to give talks at his prayer group, and eventually started his non-profit organization, Life Without Limbs. He is now a motivational speaker sought after in Christian congregations, schools and corporate meetings around the world. You see what I mean. He turned his times of worry into good use for himself and his generation. He is now affecting more lives than he thought possible. You can get more information about him on www.lifewithoutlimbs.org. I would also love to tell you about Joni Eareckson Tada. A diving accident in 1967 left Mrs. Tada a quadriplegic (person who is permanently unable to use their arms and legs) in a wheelchair, unable to use her hands. After two years of rehabilitation, Joni re-entered the community with new skills and a fresh determination to help others in a similar situation. "My church made a huge difference in my family's life as they demonsrated the love of God in practical ways," says Joni. Now, Mrs. Tada is a highly sought after conference speaker both in the U.S and overseas. She has written numerous articles. She is the founder of Joni and Friends, an organisation accelerating Christian Ministry in the physically-challenged community. Mrs. Tada and her husband, Ken have been married since 1982. Mr. Tada retired from 32years of teaching in 2004 and ministers alongside Joni as they travel across the country and around the world. (Get her on www.joniandfriends.org) Truly, you can now agree with me that there is ability in disability. You still can become what you want to be; achieve what you want to achieve; and live the life you want to. One of the secrets of these people you just read about is that they embraced Jesus Christ with all their heart. That was when light came into their lives. The Jesus they embraced said; ... I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12) It is only with this Light that you can see and achieve what you are meant to achieve in life. And one thing is certain; your being maimed ends only here on earth as long as you are a Christian. When you die or even if you are still alive and Christ comes to collect His people on that great day of rapture, your body will be changed to a new, perfect and glorified body which even the heavenly beings have. There in heaven, you will feel no pain, no broken-heartedness or sorrow. It will all be a perfect life full of joy. Hallelujah! Take notice! I tell you a mystery (a secret truth, an event decreed by the hidden purpose of or counsel of God). We shall not all fall asleep [in death], but we shall all be changed (transformed). In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the [sound of the] last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [in Christ] will be raised imperishable (free and immune from decay), and we shall be changed (transformed) (1 Corinthians 15:51,52) So dear, earth is not your true home, Heaven is and I believe you will make it. Only walk with God. Seek to obey His Son Jesus. Build up your spirit with His Words and learn to do them. I assure you, even before you get there, earth might have even been like heaven to you. Only in Hell will you suffer more than you are doing now. In her book, A Divine Revelation of Hell, Mary K. Baxter whom God has called in the areas of dreams, visions and revelations, shares her vision of hell as shown her by Jesus (Acts 2:17). She wrote, "In the cells, as far as you can see, are souls in torment. Each time the cells are filled, hell enlarges itself to receive even more souls. You have all your senses in hell. And if you were blind on earth, you will be blind in hell. If you had only one arm on earth, you will have only one arm in hell." This will never be your portion in Jesus name. No matter what I see and hear, I still know that God is still in the business of doing the impossible. The world was made from things that were not. That is to say, the earth was void and in darkness, yet He called out everything you now see, into existence. He can still make new limbs appear on your body. He still can make you look fresh and whole. I have heard a healing testimony where someone's leg that was cut grew and formed a new one; a story where eyes appeared in its place on a face covered with skin. It can happen to you. Though it rarely occurs, but soon, an army of God with so much faith will come up whom God will use in performing such creative miracles like child's play. So, my dearly beloved, never permit your spirit to be maimed. You can yet be a blessing to your generation. An Evangellist cum Author http://www.chrisumeweni.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |