Next time when you say "Why me?" remember 'Charlie'
"ALS forced them to answer
impossible questions...with possibility
-- private peril...with personal faith"
This is the phrase that gets my attention on the home page of Charlie Wedemeyer website.
So many times, I have heard friends, family members and even myself ask this most vulnerable sounding question "Why me?" We usually look around and feel "No, I do not deserve this. Then, why me?" Of course some problems test all our "grit and hold" and unsettle us. And it takes a huge amount of patience and faith to get past the problem.
Today, when I read the story of Charlie Wendemeyer in San Jose Mercury News, it became so obvious -".. pain and suffering is inevitable. We're all going to experience it. But misery is optional". Charlie, a full of life active football coach suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a disease that degenerates the body and is known to kill fast; while he was still in his thirties. Today, after 30 years, Charlie is well alive - and not just alive, he and his family is a living testament of the fact that faith and love can win over everything!
I am touched by the character of Lucy, Charlie's wife. When Charlie announces his disease to his wife in 1984 and explains the plights of living with it, Lucy says "We would rather have you like this, than not have you at all." And she did that! Also, worth mentioning is the fact that inspite of such a tough situation at home, the family survived well! Their son is a Stanford doctor and daughter runs the Charlie Wedemeyer Family Outreach, raising money for ALS families.
Indeed, hats off to the family. When I hear now someone say that they are afraid to commit, I think they better be. Not because, of the silly feeling of being trapped or loosing personal space - but because it takes a lot of sacrifice and responsibility to raise and keep a Family! Say "I do", only when you are ready for this level of commitment.
Thanks "Mercury News" today, for not telling me of yet another road accident or rape or a murder .. but strengthening and renewing my sense of faith.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, December 02, 2007 at 8:46 PM.
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5:22 AMNice and thought provoking post. Wanted to share another similar instance that I read a long time ago. It seems Mr.A (I have poor memory for names and I read it very long ago) was an undisputed champion of Tennis Grandslam titles in his era (Like Federer, I guess). Later in his life, he suffered a very rare form of Cancer and he was hospitalized when a journalist asked him if he God was biased and if he felt unlucky. His answer was: "I never asked "Why me", when I won all those grandslam titles. How can I ask God now?". Your post brought this from from the remotest corner of my memory. Thanks.
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