A WOMAN'S VIEW ~ Lenore Buth

Take heart, Mom. You are your child's biggest "advantage" in life

Have you ever doubted your ability to give your children what they need? 

Most of us have. Then it's good to remind ourselves about individuals who overcame big challenges and reared solid families.

My favorite example is Sonya Carson. I've admired her ever since her younger son, Ben--yes, that Ben Carson--held our convention audience spellbound as he told of his growing-up years. 

Sonya coped with challenges most of us can't imagine. 

• She only completed Grade 3 in school
• At age 13 she married 28 year-old Robert Carson
• They moved to Detroit after he finished his U.S. Army service
• Son Curtis arrived when Sonya was 20 and Ben, two years later 
• Five years later she discovered her husband "forgot" to mention his other (first) wife and children--and still supported them
• Within two years Sonya and Robert separated, then she divorced him
• She and the boys moved in with relatives in Boston
• Two years later the Sonya and her boys moved back to Detroit and into subsidized housing

Sonya was determined to provide for her family

She took whatever honest low-skills, low-pay jobs she could find, working two or three at a time. She left before dawn and came home late, often finding her sons asleep in front of the television set. 

Each day the boys got themselves up, then walked along the railroad track to school. Classmates called fifth-grader Ben the dumbest kid in class and made jokes about him. 

Almost every Sunday the trio attended their church at least once.

One day he brought home a report card that changed his life 

His mother was not happy. "You're a smart boy, Bennie! I know you can do better! If you keep up like this, you'll end up sweeping floors or on skid row. That's not the kind of life I want for you--and neither does God."

Sonya turned to God, whom she calls her friend and partner, and asked for wisdom.

A day or so later she announced new rules and pledged her sons to honor them.

• Come home home immediately after school
• No playing outside until after homework is done
• Be inside the apartment by sunset, with doors locked; Halls and public areas are dangerous
• Only two TV programs per week--after homework
• Each week read two books from the neighborhood public library and write a book report
• Mother will critique each book report 

The boys complained and friends criticized, but nothing swayed Sonya

She told them, "I know you boys have good minds. If you can read, you can learn just about anything you want to know. The doors of the world are open to people who can read."  

Before long the friendly public librarians knew both boys well. Each week Sonya Carson carefully read their book reports, asking questions and offering encouragement. (For years it didn't occur to her sons she might not understand every word she read.)

First Bennie read his way through the section on animals and then tackled books about rocks. The crushed rocks along the track now fascinated him. By the middle of his sixth grade, Benjamin led his class.

Ben's biggest challenge

All along Ben struggled with his violent temper, which led to frequent confrontations with classmates. The turning point came when he was 14 and stabbed a friend. Only that boy's heavy metal belt buckle saved his life.

Ben ran home and locked himself in the bathroom with his Bible. He stayed there for hours, asking God to help him deal with his temper. He found many verses about anger in the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs 16:32 pierced his heart:

"Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city." 

Ben vowed that with God's help, he would control his anger, rather than let his anger control him. After that his temper no longer troubled him.

Sonya's plan pays big dividends

From then on Ben poured himself into his studies, graduated high school, entered Yale in 1969, then went on to medical school. (Older brother Curtis, became an engineer and designed airplane parts.) At age 33, Benjamin Solomon Carson, M.D., became the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. He pioneered in separating co-joined (Siamese) twins. 

A committed Christian, he still reads from the Book of Proverbs, morning and evening.

Like Mother, like son

Ben discounts the lifetime effect of poverty and racial prejudice.

"The person who has the most to do with who you are and what you become is you." 

"My mother used to say, 'If you walk into an auditorium full of racist, bigoted people ... you don't have a problem, they have a problem ...'

His philosophy probably stems from from Sonya Carson's frequent admonition to her sons: 

"You do your best and God will do the rest."

She lived that principle herself. "My job was to prepare them. And I turned to God for help every inch of the way."

You are equipped to rear your kids

You'll have days you feel life is too hard or think you lack what it takes. If money is tight, you may fear you're shortchanging your children. 

Then call Sonya Carson and her courage to mind. Think of the rich gifts she gave her sons in that dismal setting! She spoke courage when she didn't know how she'd get through the week. She set limits for her children, always speaking faith and confidence. They grew strong from within--and so did she. 

Not once did she walk alone. Neither do you, if, like Sonya, God is your friend and your partner.

Blessings,

Lenore        

Are heroes born or made? You decide

"Ordinary" people who perform heroically usually amaze the rest of us, especially when they seem unimpressed with themselves. 

Here's one you won't forget. Meet Nico Calabria, age 20, a standout in every way.  

Photo by Carl Calabria

After Nico's birth doctors told his parents their son would never lead a normal life. 

Could never lead a normal life.

Yet at Concord-Carlisle (MA) High School he played on the varsity soccer team and the varsity wrestling team. 

As a 19-year old he was one of five amateur football (soccer) players featured in Powerade's 2014 FIFA World Cup ad campaign.

Even earlier, at age 13, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the 19,341 ft. peak, set a world record and, by the way, raised $100,000 to provide free wheelchairs to needy people in Tanzania.       

He did it all on crutches.

Nico was born without a right hip or leg.  

His fascination with soccer balls started early

He first picked one up and played with it as a toddler. An unlikely toy? Sure, but his parents never discouraged him and Nico never viewed his disability as an excuse not to try. 

As he told interviewer Mihaela Husar of "Impresive" magazine, "It was hard sometimes, but my family always had a 'no excuse, tough love mentality' when it came to overcoming challenges."

That's easy to say, hard to carry out for any mom or dad, but especially when their child has a disability.

We get a glimpse of Nico growing up

The ad agency hired by PowerAde sports drink produced this heartwarming video about Nico's life when he was chosen to be a member of Team USA of the American Amputee Soccer Association which in 2014 competed in the World Cup. 

YouTube picked it up and it immediately went viral.  

 

For Nico it's all about doing what he loves

Nico tells his "Impresive" interviewer some people think he's trying to make a statement by playing soccer with able-bodied people. Not true. He says he never gave up because, "I just love playing soccer."

It helps that he has no hangups about what he can or cannot do.

"I look at disabilities as 'differences in ability.' There's an important distinction. The definition of 'disabled' is basically a long list of synonyms that don't describe me...like 'crippled' and 'weak'."

PowerAde's global communication manager says Nico redefines our outlook on challenges.  "Having one leg was his reality, so he chose to view it as an asset rather than a hindrance. ... That's what we loved about him."

Here's life according to Nico at age 18: "I've got one leg. You get one life. I'm not going to let the hand I was dealt in life dictate what my life is going to be."

What holds the rest of us back?

It took me way too long to understand the basic, obvious fact that everything hinges on how we think and what we think. 

Whatever the circumstances of our life may be, what we think is most important.

That's just as true for you and me as it is for Nico Calabria.

I need to keep reminding myself of that truth, so I collect quotes. Here are some favorites. Each one has at times been on a sticky note on my bathroom mirror or tacked to the bulletin board above my computer. 

• Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it.  --Irving Berlin
  
  
• Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.  --Henry Ford
  
  
• Never, never, never give up!  --Winston Churchill

The bottom line for us as Christians

You and I face different challenges, but each one of us has difficulties to overcome. How we look at our lives makes all the difference.

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.  --Proverbs 23:7  NLT

For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. --2 Tim. 1:7  ESV

We know we're not alone. For us, it's God who gives us the right spirit and supplies what we need to live the life He has given us.

That certainty will carry us through each day, each challenge. Count on it.

Still learning,

Lenore

 

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Look what can happen if we stamp out two words: " I can't"

This is a story about overcoming BIG obstacles.      

This little charmer was born in 1987, to a mother and father who walked away from the hospital and left her behind.

Permanently.

Enter Sharon and Gerald Bricker, two "ordinary" people who live in tiny Hardinville, IL.

They already had three sons, but Sharon always yearned for a daughter. She told a reporter, "I prayed, 'God give me a little girl that needs a family as bad as I need a little girl.'" 

He did.

When the couple learned this 3-month old baby girl was available for adoption they were ready to jump at the chance.

There was just one little thing: She was born without legs. 

No matter, they decided. The Brickers quickly applied to adopt, signed all the paperwork, took her home and named her Jennifer.

These two knew from the beginning that their new daughter would require all the love they could give her. 

Meet Jennifer Bricker today, champion acrobat and aerialist 

She and her parents tell their story on an unforgettable YouTube, titled: "Never say can't."   www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho9M6r5RF4A

I've watched it several times and one word comes through to me: Courage.

Courage for Jennifer, of course, but also for Sharon and Gerald, all the way through.

They come across as two good people, solid and strong, who stepped out in faith.

These two non-experts simply loved their child and believed in her. Because of Sharon's earlier remarks, it's safe to say they prayed, probably every minute of every day.

I consider these parents as amazing as their daughter. 

In the Bricker family, the same rule applied to everyone

Jennifer traces her attitude to the one simple rule her parents gave her:  "Never say 'can't.'"

She remembers them telling her again and again, "'Can't' is not part of your vocabulary. If you just put your mind to it, you can do it."

"If you're never given limits," she says, "then you think, 'I can do anything!'"

So this little "handicapped" girl decided she could be a tumbler, a gymnast and nothing would stop her. 

Finding courage to go on

When I imagine Sharon and Gerald Bricker's life. I think how easy and loving and "right" it would have seemed to tell their daughter, "Honey, I'm sorry. You can't be a tumbler because you have no legs . . . You can't play basketball because without legs you couldn't be fast enough . . . You can't play baseball because how could you run the bases?"

And all their friends and neighbors would have said, "You did the right thing. It's a shame, but in her situation how could little Jennifer even think such a thing?"

It took courage to let their daughter try and keep on trying and experience the disappointment and pain until she mastered the skills.

Suppose we, too, adopted "Never say can't" as our motto

What if we removed "can't" from our vocabulary? Or refused to allow it as an excuse within our family?

It sounds almost counter-cultural, doesn't it? 

Whatever age we are, it takes courage to murder the word, "can't," and push ourselves to grow stronger and to persevere when it's hard.

Maybe it sounds too simple, but as Christians we know where to find strength and courage to go on. Here are a couple of verses that remind us we are never alone: 

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  --Isaiah 41:10

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. --Philippians 4:13 

Still learning, too,

Lenore

Note: Because Jennifer Bricker was interviewed on "Family Life Today" on July 15, 2015, it seemed worthwhile to re-post this. She makes us believe we can handle anything, doesn't she?

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Learning about life and perseverence from Maya Angelou

Maybe you never thought about Maya Angelou until now, after her recent death, when everyone's talking about her.

Maybe you wonder what's the big deal?

I sometimes disagreed with her views , but I admire how she came through a harsh childhood and grew into a calm, balanced woman of accomplishment.

How did she do it?

I think it traces back to her stable, loving grandmother, who spoke faith and hope into this hurting little girl. When Maya was three her dysfunctional father plunked her down to live with his mother-in-law, then four years later snatched her backto live with her mother.

When Maya was eight, her mother's boyfriend raped her. She confided in her older brother, who told the family. The rapist was tried, convicted and jailed.

For one day.

Shortly thereafter, someone murdered him. Blaming herself for the man's death, Maya stopped talking . . . for five years.

The two siblings were sent to live with Grandma, who provided a solid home, frequently reassuring them of Christ's love for them.

How does one survive such experiences?

We can learn a lot from Maya about overcoming pain. Her writings and interviews reveal what kept her from bitterness.

• Faith in God:
  "I believed that there was a God because I was told it by my grandmother and later by other adults. But when I found that I knew not only that there was God but that I was a child of God, when I understood that, when I comprehended that, more than that, when I internalized that, ingested that, I became courageous."
  
  
• Take the long view:
  "You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” 
  
  
• Choose to take a positive view of life:
  "You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”
  
  "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."
  
  
• Forgive:  
  "You can't forgive without loving. And I don't mean sentimentality. I don't mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, 'I forgive. I'm finished with it.'
  
  
• Be authentic:
  "If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning 'Good morning' at total strangers.”
  
  
• Be kind:
  "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
  
  
• Recognize your impact on others:
  "Each of us, famous or infamous, is a role model for somebody, and if we aren't, we should behave as though we are -- cheerful, kind, loving, courteous. Because you can be sure someone is watching and taking deliberate and diligent notes.”
  
  
• Remember that life is a gift:
  Maya's prayer: "I want to thank you, Lord, for life and all that's in it. Thank you for the day and for the hour, and the minute.”

This kind of transformation can't be accomplished on our own

 

Maya's story reminded me of this verse, which reveals her secret.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  --2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

Maya Angelou was far from perfect, yet she was forgiven. In Christ, she was a new creation, freed from bitterness and hate.

 

That's what enabled her to be able to say, "I forgive. I'm finished with it"--and mean it.

 

You and I can have the same newness of mind and spirit. It's the gift that comes with believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior (John 3:16-17.)

 

Trusting, too,

Lenore

 

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A never-quit spirit makes up for deficiencies

Few who watched the London Olympics could look away from the shots of Oscar Pistorius, a strong, triumphant athlete.

There he was running on two carbon fiber blades shaped like scythes. Although he failed to qualify for the 400 metre final, this South African counted it a victory simply to compete on an equal basis with "normal" runners.

If you followed his story, you know Oscar was born without fibulas, the long bones that run from knee to ankle. That November 22, 1986, his parents, Sheila and Henke Pistorius, as any of us would, wondered what kind of life lay ahead for their newborn.

Early on they consulted with some of the best doctors in the world. These physicians advised a procedure that left them reeling: Ampute their baby's legs below the knee. Soon.

Doctors assured them their son would face less difficulty learning to walk and would have better mobility all through life. Surgeons performed the amputation before Oscar's first birthday.

Six months later technicians fitted the toddler with his first prosthetic legs.

Never shrinking back

This remarkable family was crazy for sports. Oscar grew up rejecting physical limitations and trying everything, egged on by his mom.

He played rugby and water polo and also wrestled. In 2003 a rugby tackle resulted in torn knee ligaments. Doctors advised him to get into sprinting to rehab his leg and his coach quietly began shape Oscar for a running career.

Through it all, Sheila Pistorius cheered him on. According to her son, she cut him no slack. "She always said the loser isn't the person that gets involved and comes in last, but it's the person that doesn't get involved in the first place."

Henke and Sheila divorced sometime during Oscar's childhood years, after which the three siblings saw little oftheir father. .

Sheila Pistorius died when Oscar was fifteen. In an interview with News24.com, he said his  mother "left an indelible mark on me."

What keeps him going

It's heady stuff for any athlete to compete in the Olympic, but Oscar never forgets the source of his strength. He discussed that with Nico Bougas (Assist News Service (ANS) dated June 9, 2012.)

Oscar grew up in a Christian home and accepted Christ as His Savior “more or less before I could remember. God is the most important person in the world to me. If I’m on the right patch spiritually, it helps with everything else.”

Asked why he needs Christ in his life, he says: “Because He is the reason for my success and the one that takes me from strength to strength. Christ makes all the difference. He aids me in my struggles and makes my glories that much greater.”

The ultimate prize

Like many athletes, Oscar has a tattoo, which he got one sleepless night in New York City. It’s a verse from Corinthians: “I do not run like a man running aimlessly.’’

To be specific, the verse is 1 Corinthians 9:26. If we add verse 25, we understand what Oscar Pistorius means:

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that  will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly . . .

The crown stands for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, which brings us eternal life in heaven.

Here's to living with purpose--with or without a tattoo. 

Love,

Lenore