Little Inspiration

Well, I did pretty well this weekend. I walked my four miles on Saturday, and then I walked my ten miles on Sunday.

I have to say, by the end of the ten miles, my thighs and feet were screaming at me. Luckily, I had a partner (Robin) that I was able to talk to for 2 1/2 hours. And I also had a little inspiration named Alex.

Alex is the toddler son of my friend and co-worker Kristy. A happy, sweet, smart little boy, he's something of a little miracle. When he was first born, Alex had to remain in the NICU for several weeks as he would stop breathing when fed. The doctors could not explain the reason for this scary condition, but, eventually, Alex was sent home with a laundry list of medical tests to be conducted on him in the future.

All was well for awhile, up until Alex should have been hitting the scooting, crawling, pulling up and walking milestones. He just wouldn't. Kristy told me that he wouldn't use his legs. When he started crawling, he would army crawl around. For the longest time, he wouldn't pull up, or even stand when stood up by someone.

Then, one day, during bath time, he had a cup of chilly water dumped on his head to wash out the shampoo. Apparently, this ticked Alex off so much, he grabbed the side of the tub and pulled himself up! Now, in order to insure this wasn't some sort of fluke, the poor boy had to endure several more dousings--all of which ticked him off and caused him to pull up. Kristy and her husband, Greg, were thrilled (and Alex had an aversion to baths for a few days!)

Slowly but surely, this sweet little boy has made strides towards walking. This weekend, he started walking behind a walker. He'd fall down, he'd get back up and start walking some more. Knowing this-- knowing how many prayers have been prayed, how many tests have been run, how many anxious moments this little man's parents have endure--knowing this made me grin from ear to ear! It also inspired me.

God blessed me with the ability to walk, and I have faith that He will grant this blessing to Alex in the near future. No walkers, no braces, no nothing. I just know that God has amazing plans for this boy, and I'm so excited to see what they are!

Until that time, I will be keeping Alex as my little inspiration as I train for my walk. Maybe, when he's old enough, I'll be able to talk him into training with me!

The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be.



                                              ~Horace Bushnell