Life is what life is. We are dealt a hand of cards, and how we play them is up to us. That’s called free will. Sometimes we win and sometimes we loose. And sometimes, regardless of the hand we’ve been dealt,we make it work even though it is a lousy hand. I learned a lesson about that today.
I saw him as soon as I got off the bus. Short in stature, large head for the size of his body, short arms and short legs, and stubby fingers. Short limb dwarfism or achondroplasia is what he had. I expected him to be an outcast from the large number of his peers, some 350 of them that were waiting for us to see them (we saw 330 children and few adults by the time the day was over). I’ve seen this before. If your not like everyone else, you don’t belong and you are cast out. But surprise, surprise. I found him to be engaging, playing with his peers, and some even taking him under their wing so to speak so as to be able to keep up with the soccer game that was going on. I spent a lot of time with him, doing a physical, talking about how things were in school, his friends, and if he felt like he was different. For a 10 year old boy, his answers were mature and to the point: “I am a little different, but so is everyone. I like everyone and they like me.” Life is what life is. In other words, we make do with what we have. We play our hand. This young boy, played his well and I was very proud of him. He accepted who he was and was not ashamed. And by being bold and accepting, those around him accepted him as well. I wonder how well we would do if we were faced with having to play a bad hand.
In all things give thanks,
David
(photo credit: Brandon Cunningham)
