WF Pride
Positive Attitude and Passion for Life and Work
Chad Cottingham
For the last two years, my oldest daughter, Carley, has traveled to southern Illinois to work at a camp for boys and girls who are limb deficient. NubAbility, as it’s called, is a sports camp dedicated to helping kids with limb loss get off the bench and into the game. A staff of high school, collegiate and professional people, all with limb loss themselves teach the young athletes to not only play, but to play the best with less – and win. The staff share their experiences, skills, stories and faith with the next generation.
Carley shared a story with us when she got home a few days ago. As she circled up with her group of basketball players, she asked if there was anything they still had trouble doing or would like help with. An 11 year old girl, named Ella, who was a remarkable basketball player, told the group that she could not put her hair into a ponytail. This is a basic life skill that nearly every girl on the planet learns at a very young age. Carley, who just mastered the skill herself a few years ago, pulled Ella to the front and demonstrated how to do it. Ella did it on her first attempt. She hugged and squeezed Carley for what seemed like five minutes. Tears ran down both their faces. Tears of joy. Tears of accomplishment. Tears of feeling understood like no other person on the planet at that moment.
The camp is full of stories like this. The positive energy and passion for life is contagious. A group of individuals who might have a right to be mad or negative about what has happened to them are not. They are the most upbeat, life-loving people you would ever experience anywhere. Their smiles are as big as the ocean is wide.
Do you have the same passion and positive spirit as the athletes and staff of NubAbility? Why or why not? Too often we focus on our little problems, our little aches and pains. I know my daughter would trade you for your aches and pains to have her hand back. Stay positive! Stay Passionate about life! It’s a choice we all make each and every day. Don’t let the weight of the world slow you down. The bible has this to say in Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ~ NLT
“Dear Lord, thank you for the example of those at NubAbility camp. Thank you for their positive spirit. Help us to be happy and content in life. Help us to find true happiness in a personal relationship with You – the source of all joy. It’s in Jesus name I pray, Amen.”