5.10.2013...

"walk by faith" by jeremy camp...

"well i will walk by faith, even when i cannot see.  well because this broken road prepares Your will for me."

i heard this song this morning as i pulled into my parking spot and it just spoke to me.  i wasn't sure why at the time, had no idea what the day would hold, had no idea the people i would meet.  there was no way to know the things i would witness, nor the words i would hear...

sometimes you meet people and your life is forever changed.  today was one of those days.

wil and susan lala.  just names.  nothing more...initially.  their story is special to say the least - a tragic plane crash 20 years ago...killed susan's father and almost killed wil.  he wasn't expected to live, but within this man lies a spirit like none i've ever seen.  after numerous surgeries and months of rehab, he proved everyone wrong.  susan and their then college-age daughter sat tirelessly by his side, cared for and loved by the same staff who had taken to wil like he was nothing less than family.  a dentist by trade, he and susan had created a life in belize where they ran a small hotel.  after his accident, they returned to belize where fishing was his passion.  while offering dental care to those on their island, wil discovered a talent for creating beautiful tapestries out of aluminum cans and today he donated one of those tapestries, called "first love" to liberty hospital in honor of the people and place he credits for saving his life.

his story isn't what got me.  it's touching and beautiful, but it was the life in his words...the amount of genuine love, gratitude and grace he displays no matter who he's talking to.  there is more life in this one man than i've seen in anyone.  i was truly humbled in his presence, reminded of all the good surrounding me.  within moments of meeting them, i felt as if i'd known them my entire life and longed to visit with them extensively to somehow take in even a little of the joy they radiated.

there are people who just know how to live. as i watched wil today...with the doctors, nurses and numerous staff who had cared for him over 20 years ago...i witnessed so much more than what my eyes could take in. wil lost the vision in one eye and his hearing is impaired, but you would never know it. he and susan said repeatedly that there were so many miracles, so many blessings that brought them to this moment...that gave them the past 20 years.

we are shaped by everything that happens to us...molded and polished to be His hands, His words. the path before us is often one we cannot see, a seemingly broken road that we must walk by faith to prepare us for so much more.

that was what i saw in them today...two people who faced a terrible situation, who could have become bitter or angry at what they lost but did just the opposite. they are walking through this life together, a living testimony to what genuine love and grace can do. i left them inspired and renewed, excited about nothing in particular but simply about the possibilities this life holds. i want to be better, to live better...to stop taking precious moments for granted, to be fully present to those who matter and let go of the insecurities and demons that do nothing but make me less of a person.

i know everything in my past, everything I'm living now, is preparing me for something greater. that man likely will never know the impact he had on me today, but that's okay. this is exactly what i mean when i say we meet the people we're supposed to meet when we're supposed to meet them....it's just an amazing feeling when you can actually recognize it when it happens. more often, i don't realize it until much later, after the moment has passed. it's a God thing, i'm sure of it.

so, walk by faith and see where the road leads you. be open to the life in front of you and the people within it. you never know where you will be inspired or where you will make a difference.