I met an amazing man several years ago, who is sadly no longer with us. John Hawkridge struggled to walk even the shortest of distances aided by sticks and I guess that in his early years would have been labelled with the horrendous term “invalid” yet with grit and determination, this incredible man managed to climb at an agonisingly slow pace up the foothills of Mount Everest. I remember sitting at an event where he talked, using slides in those days, about his experience, and at times, he had somebody crawling behind him, placing his feet, with every step. John was never going to reach the summit, yet, he did far more than many of us and can add that achievement to the many he accomplished in his life. During my lifetime, I have met a string of people described by the world as being “disabled” and yet they are some of greatest fighters we have in the world, not satisfied with maintaining the status quo, but pushing themselves to achieve what to most of us feels to be the impossible. People like John are role models for our young people of today and should be held aloft as shining examples of what people can achieve in life.
The Paralympics opened in Tokyo on Tuesday 24th August this year. The Olympic motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius” in Latin, or “Faster, Higher, Stronger” in English will be played out in front of our eyes as those who could so easily wallow in their own self pity, for the hand that life has dealt them, will instead push themselves to the absolute limits. I love reading autobiography’s and having read about the lives of some of our premier athletes, performing at the highest level in the world, their chosen discipline consumes every part of their lives, their use of time, the way they use their mind and body, every waking hour for years is focussed on that single performance on the day and when they achieve the accolade of being the best in the world, they have earned it. This is commitment at it’s highest level!
The key to all of this is the question “how does this change me?” I remember sitting listening to John Hawkridges experiences, was I simply in awe of the man? Or did his determination to achieve his goal, change my life? As we watch the Paralympics over the coming couple of weeks, are we simply amazed at what others can achieve? Or do we ask the question “if they can do that, what could I do?” I believe that somewhere within every single one of us, regardless of our size, gender, status, knowledge or wealth, we too can be the very best, we too can climb our mountains and achieve the impossible. One of the little illustrations I have clung to over recent weeks is the motivational term based on the word “impossible” the suggestion is that if we add an apostrophy and a gap “Impossible” suddenly becomes “I’m possible”
As a Christian, I believe that God helps us to achieve what feels to be impossible in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.