My weakness

But he said to me,"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV)

I was reading a devotional today, and it really spoke to me about being disabled. That word is such a bad word to some people. To some, it means sponging off the government. To others, it means just getting by... To me, it means a freedom, a gift from God. It's all about his freedom in my bondage, his strength, in my weakness.

I don't know if I will ever be free of my disabilities enough to work again in a job in the national economy or to be able to work at something that isn't a mere hobby to most. But I do know that I have been given a gift in my disability.

Once I read the verse from the beginning of this post, I was glad to let my weakness take over. I quit focusing on my handicaps and began appreciating the gift. The gift of Christ's strength grabbing onto my weakness.

I take my limitations in stride and with good cheer. My limitations that have cut me down to size--abuse, accidents,opposition and bad breaks. I have just chosen to let Christ take over!

This is the way I choose to look at my disabilities. I also believe that we all have "crosses to bear" so to speak, to help others that may have those same crosses at a later time. We are all to build each other up, not tear people down.

So, when you see a handicapped person/disabled person and think, "wow, they are just lazy", or "I hate people that abuse the system," or "I guess they have just given up on life, or "gee, they don't look sick" Just remind yourself that we all have a story, we all have lessons learned, some by grace, some by hard knocks, but we can all help each other , by letting our weakness be strengthened by God.