How do you spell B R A V E?

“Bonnie St. John lost her right leg at five years old to a bone disorder.She jokingly refers to herself as a one -legged African American girl from San Diego with no money and no snow who to took up skiing.

As a black woman with one leg, she’s faced more hurdles than most. She’s survived child sexual abuse, family dysfunction, divorce, race and gender discrimination and navigating the world on an artificial limb.

Once Bonnie was speaking at a conference in Worcester, Massachusetts. She wore a skirt and as close to heels as she could while wearing a titanium leg.

“You want to see a miracle?” she asked the crowd.

She walked across the stage. The audience went wild with applause.

Bonnie often goes to hospitals to visit patients and give talks to people who are facing obstacles that seem insurmountable like hers once did. She met one mother whose 13-year-old son had been horribly burned on his face and arms. The mother turned to Bonnie and asked, “Will my son ever live a normal life?”

“No,” Bonnie said. “He should aim higher.”[1]

This story reminded me that one should always aim higher and that impossible is merely a word to describe the degree of difficulty.

[1] Regina Brett, Be the Miracle, 50 Lessons for Making the Impossible Possible, Grand Central Publishing, 2012, p208

 

    Until next time, remember,

• You are not alone.

• You are not your circumstances.

• You have everything within you to live a purpose-filled life.