An American Crip Anniversary

So, today feels like a blog instead of a vlog day. Not really sure why except that it’s dreary out and my thoughts seem to want to come out in this mode instead of by audible voice. But, it’s a momentous day in that it’s the 40th anniversary of the accident that caused my injury so I think that deserves some recognition here. In fact, maybe subconsciously that is why I started this project as a whole around this time even though it hasn’t dawned on me until now. So, what should I say about it?

I’ve been thinking of the appropriate words to commemorate since I woke but nothing really heavy-hitting is popping out so maybe it will as I go. Today happens to be a Sunday so that means it’s the day that I do one of my in-home religious rituals. For awhile now this has been to use YouTube to listen to and study some type of content that I feel connects to me. I usually pick something that feels to me like a Sunday school lesson and then I pick another video that is more of a sermon. Today I chose a podcast interview as the former and a sermon by a pastor as the latter. 

The second video I watched was a sermon and an episode of “Saturday Session” that is put out by the ministries of Ravi Zacharias. Amy Orr-Ewing’s sermon was about Nehemiah, a book from the Old Testament, regarding the principles of working together to accomplish a goal. It had been awhile since I had visited the book of Nehemiah, probably since college, and it was a nice refresher on some principles that the book details. The main lessons or points from the sermon are as follows: 

• A corporate call to action. A move from I to Us.
• Ownership by all
• Where we are matters to God
• Resist fear and confusion
• Know that you will be opposed
• Pushing through the midway point of discouragement and persevering to breakthrough
• In the midst of opposition, pray for strength

Reading these even as I type them prove to me that my mode of religious operation seems to be in sync with what I needed to commemorate the day today. I will detail some personal thoughts in three following bullets that correspond to the sermon’s points above:

• The building of a project doesn’t belong to only one person’s energy, and a project can be seen as anything from a wall like in Nehemiah to a website and even to your actual being. Not one of us got to where we are today alone and that is clearly apparent in my life, particularly on days like today. I know about the prayers and direct care that was and is given to me throughout my life that has helped me to today. I also know where they come from on a much larger level than the individuals involved. For all of these I am truly thankful. In turn, I hope that by my actions I’ve taken in my life thus far and those that I will take in the future show that I contribute to the “Us” with my “I” and that I am appreciative of all of the “I”s involved in my life. 
• Resisting fear and confusion are things that my family did after my accident that, in turn, led to my progress. They have always been people of faith that has started from the top with my great grandparents and this faith gave them the ability to deal with a situation like my accident. My maternal grandfather will tell a story that he told one of my doctors that if they could just get me home, out of the hospital, that they would take care of me. Indeed, when I did come home I did begin getting better and it was because of these supports. I don’t think any member of my maternal family shied away from the responsibility which means that everyone took ownership of the situation which is another key principle of the sermon. 
• Along the way, there have certainly been scares regarding my health and with just life in general. Everyone will have these from time to time but these times of discouragement are the times for persevering that eventually come to breakthrough via fervent prayer and supplication. I only feel the need to say here that I am truly thankful for the prayers and supplications that have been offered up on my behalf throughout my life and those that will come in the future. 

As I like to do, along with these, I will wrap up with some type of connection to the theme of being an American and, in my opinion, both of my study references today lend to this with one phrase:

“Taking responsibility for your “I” will help in your work of the “Us”.”

With our country, Nehemiah, the subject matter of the podcast and my life, this principle is pronounced. At some point, we all should take a look at our work and ask ourselves not only what is it doing for us individually but what is it doing for the whole. If we can only answer the first and not the second, we might need to then consider a change in direction. This doesn’t mean that we are required to work for the whole. It simply means that we should think about our “I” in the place of the “Us”. The same principle could be stated by phrasing it as “if you’re not contributing, you’re taking” and I never want to be seen as only a taker. I would actually like to be seen as a contributor only because I do not feel as though the things that I have been given in every facet of my life are things that I have received based on selfishness. Most of the things I have been blessed with have come from necessity from occurrences out of my control. 

Before you go , be sure to check out the commemorative tribal ink piece I got for the anniversary.