To count our hurt, pain and struggle as nothing but pure joy? As
my parents were Christians, and my Dad even a Pastor of our church,
they knew that verse very well. However, on the morning of the 4th
of December 1982 in Melbourne (Australia), the last two words on
the minds of my parents was "Praise God!". Their firstborn son had
been born without limbs! There were no warnings or time to prepare
themselves for it. The doctors we shocked and had no answers at
all! There is still no medical reason why this had happened and
Nick now has a Brother and Sister who were born just like any other
baby.
The whole church mourned over my birth and my parents were
absolutely devastated. Everyone asked, "if God is a God of Love,
then why would God let something this bad happen to not just
anyone, but dedicated Christians?" My Dad thought I wouldn't
survive for very long, but tests proved that I was a healthy baby
boy just with a few limbs missing.
Understandably, my parents had strong concern and evident fears of
what kind of life I'd be able to lead. The first biggest hurdle was
for my parents to be at peace and trusting that God was in control.
It took a number of months of tears, questions and grief before
that complete overtook their hearts. God provided them strength,
wisdom and courage through those early years and soon after that I
was old enough to go to school.
There are a few people who assume that because of my physical
disability that it meant that I'd also be mentally disabled. The
law in Australia didn't allow me to be integrated into a
main-stream school because of my physical disability. God did
miracles and gave my Mom the strength to fight for the law to be
changed. I was one of the first disabled students to be integrated
into a main-stream school.
I liked going to school, and just try to live life like everyone
else, but it was in my early years of school where I encountered
uncomfortable times of feeling rejected, weird and bullied because
of my physical difference. It was very hard for me to get used to,
but with the support of my parents, I started to develop attitudes
and values which helped me overcome these challenging times. I knew
that I was different but on the inside I was just like everyone
else. There were many times when I felt so low that I wouldn't go
to school just so I didn't have to face all the negative attention.
I was encouraged by my parents to ignore them and to try start
making friends by just talking with some kids. Soon the students
realized that I was just like them, and starting there God kept on
blessing me with new friends.
There were times when I felt depressed and angry because I couldn't
change the way I was, or blame anyone for that matter. I went to
Sunday School and learnt that God loves us all and that He cares
for you. I understood that love to a point as a child, but I didn't
understand that if God loved me why did He make me like this? Is it
because I did something wrong? I thought I must have because out of
all the kids at school, I'm the only weird one. I felt like I was a
burden to those around me and the sooner I go, the better it'd be
for everyone. I wanted to end my pain and end my life at a young
age, but I am thankful once again, for my parents and family who
were always there to comfort me and give me strength.
Due to my emotional struggles I had experienced with bullying ,
self esteem and loneliness, God has implanted a passion of sharing
my story and experiences to help others cope with whatever
challenge they have in their life and let God turn it into a
blessing. To encourage and inspire others to live to their fullest
potential and not let anything get in the way of accomplishing
their hopes and dreams.
As I grew older God continued to prepare my heart and teach me to
seek Him. One of the first lessons that I have learnt was not to
take things for granted. I had that wake - up call around the age
of twelve and realised just how much I was blessed with. I take my
foot for granted, my family and the fact that I wasn't born in a
third world country all blessings that God had freely given and I
still complain? I came across :
Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the
best for those who love Him."
That verse spoke to my heart and convicted me to the point where
that I know that there is no such thing as luck, chance or
coincidence that these "bad" things happen in our life.
James 1:3&4 - "...know that the testing of your faith develops
perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything."
I had complete peace knowing that God won't let anything happen to
us in our life unless He has a good purpose for it all. I
completely gave my life to Christ at the age of fifteen after
reading John 9. Jesus said that the reason the man was born blind
was "so that the works of God may be revealed through Him." I truly
believed that God would heal me so I could be a great testimony of
His Awesome Power. Later on I was given the wisdom to understand
that if we pray for something, if it's God's will, it'll happen in
His time. If it's not God's will for it to happen, then I know that
He has something better. I now see that Glory revealed as He is
using me just the way I am and in ways others can't be
used.
