Humbly Courageous

Hello! Spring is here, and that just lifts everyone's spirits right?! Sunshine, warm breezes, and more time outside just makes everything feel better mentally and physically.   As I was brainstorming blog ideas for this week, I had an idea that I would like to anonymously share some of the wonderful messages I have received since I have stepped into what I believe is my calling in life. Spreading hope to others, who have none, or are stuck. If you have read any of my past blogs, you probably know why I am so passionate about this. Connecting my faith, with my life experiences of growing up without hope in regards to my disability, or even knowing someone who shared the same struggles as me, is what propels me into my calling. I wait for a nudging, meditate on that for a bit, and if I think it needs to be something I share, then I will strongly feel that and share. I have received so much encouragement from the disabled community, as well as the non disabled community. Messages...

As I talked about in my previous blog, I have embraced the path I am on. I'm still a work in progress, and hopefully I always will be. I also talked about how embracing the path I'm on has been life changing on how I feel about my disability. I used to view myself as weak. I am obviously physically weak, but even more than that I just viewed myself as less capable, or worse, not worthy of accomplishing big goals and dreams I have for myself. Honestly as I child, a teen, and even a young adult, I was just trying to survive. It's a tough world out there, and piling the management of a physical disability on top of the normal woes of growing up was sometimes all encompassing.  High school days! I didn't have time to embrace my disability because like everyone else I was trying to fit in. We were not meant to just "fit in". We are meant to be individuals who each bring something different to life. As a child, that's a hard concept to grasp, and even as an adul...

Hello and welcome to another week at Humbly Courageous! Faith. I'm not sure what that means to you. To me it means a journey. A journey that has had it ups and downs. I have lived without God as the center of my life, and I've lived with Him as the center of my life. I grew up going to church with my mom and my sister. I never had a super deep connection, but I believed God was real, and He was important to me. As I got older though, to me God became a place to dump my anger surrounding my disability. I just didn't understand how I could, not only be disabled, but also why I had to deal with not having a diagnosis. I don't think I ever stopped believing in God, but I definitely stopped thinking that He was going to help me out of the black hole I was sliding more and more into with each passing year.  I would hear about people who where thankful in all circumstances. They thanked God for their struggles, and their trials in life. I usually pray throughout the day on and...

I recently read something that talked about as a disabled person, making sure to take time to grieve physical loss. Things that you were never able to do, or things that your physical disability has slowly taken from you. As I read that, I realized I'm not sure I have really done that. I have been mad about those things, and felt sadness, but have never fully let myself grieve.  As I've mentioned before, growing up I was never able to run, or jump. I was able to go out on the playground and play with my peers. I even mastered the monkey bars, practicing over and over, blistering my hands. I spent hours and hours on that. That's my first vivid memory of pushing myself beyond my "limits". However, I don't think I have ever allowed myself to truly feel the sadness of never feeling what it feels like to run, or jump. It just kind of was.  I started having surgeries when I was very young, and they continued into my early adulthood. I mastered the art of walking wit...