Magic of Believing

Never Give Up!

A good friend sent me this inspirational video - and I just had to share.  You’ll find the video at the end of this post - but the video’s message is short and sweet……

When the time comes, I may not be able to hold my wife’s hand - but I will be able to hold her heart…

Like many 25-year-olds, Nick Vujicic (pronounced VOY-chich) can surf, golf and swim and he’s training for the Los Angeles Marathon.  What’s surprising is the fact he is also an author, motivational speaker, evangelist, investor, holds 2 Bachelor’s Degrees, and started an international non-profit organization called Life Without Limbs.  That’s right, Nick was born without arms, or legs.  He has a small ‘foot’ with 2 toes.  And he has a never give up attitude.

Nick Vujicic was born in Australia in 1982 to a Church pastor and his nurse wife. The ultrasound gave no clue that their baby’s limbs were not growing normally, so Nick’s birth was a huge surprise. With no medical explanation, his family and his father’s church questioned why a God of love would allow the pastor’s son to be born without limbs.

As he grew up, Nick himself often questioned what sort of a God would do such a nasty thing. He remembers reading a Biblical verse in Sunday school which stated that he was created in the image of God. Nick remembers thinking, “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, riiight.”

When he was young, Nick often wished he was dead, so he wouldn’t be such a burden to his parents.   At age 8 he tried to drown himself.  At age 10, he fantasized about asking his parents to put him on a kitchen stool — so that he could “fall” off and break his neck.

Not being able to commit suicide, Nick begged God to let him grow arms and legs. “Just think God, a modern-day miracle I’ll be! Think of how many people we’ll convert!” But that never happened either. Nick finally began to realize that maybe he didn’t need to grow arms and legs for his life to mean something. Maybe his accomplishments were enough of a miracle.

He can walk or hop almost anywhere - including up steps, using his only foot. And he can type with his only two toes (43 words a minute, thank you very much). He is brave enough to plunge into pools, trusting he will bob to the surface where he paddles around on his back using his foot as a paddle. And he writes, gets dressed and opens doors with his mouth.

He began to realize he was impressive, if not downright inspirational.

At 15, Nick officially thanked God that he was alive. At 17, he gave his first talk to a prayer group. Nick was influenced by a speaker at his school who had been orphaned and who talked about his bouts of loneliness.  The idea that someone who had struggled could give others hope appealed to him.  So he started speaking - first at school, and then church-sponsored events. By the age of 19, he seemed to have found his calling, and was getting dozens of speaking invitations. The requests to speak snowballed. And now, at 25, that’s all he does. His nonprofit is called Life Without Limbs.

He says his message resonates with teenagers because they are often told they are not good enough, sometimes by both their parents and their peers.

“It’s the fact that they understand how it feels to be alone, how it feels to be rejected, how it feels to be confused and broken. That’s the level that I come in on, and they can see that straight away. When I get up onstage, they know that I’ve been broken.”

And while Vujicic spent the first part of his life learning how to adapt to others, much of his success now lies in how he has made others learn to adapt to him.

“If we went by the world’s definition of who I’m supposed to be because I look weird … ‘well, surely, this guy can’t have a productive life, surely, he doesn’t have a sense of humor. Surely, he can’t love life.’ We stereotype people in this world. And so … if the world thinks you’re not good enough, it’s a lie, you know. Get a second opinion.”