My Strength Is My Shield

In my previous post, I talked about strength, physical, mental, and spiritual, and how having mental and spiritual strength allows people to handle situations that arise much easier than if one doesn't have it. Not only does mental and spiritual strength help one deal with situations, but it also serves as a shield. When I was growing up, before I knew I had MD, I was normal in many ways, but I was also different in other ways. I was the kid that got picked last for teams, the one that walked a bit weirdly, the one that would rather sit and read a book or color instead of playing on the playscape, the one that would trip and fall and known as "clumsy one." As a result, it made activities and certain situations difficult for me especially because of the comments that kids and even adults were made. I remember when kids, especially boys, would tell me to get my butt out of their face when I would get up on the floor. They would ask me why I broke so many bones, why I walked a bit differently than they did, why couldn't I run like they did and as fast as they could, they would call me lazy, and teachers would yell at me to run faster. I was asked to leave various activities such as gymnastics, karate, dance, and had to stop other activities because of my clumsiness. Things like this could really make a person feel like they aren't good enough or strong enough or even make them feel rejected, but for me it was what helped me to become strong, and toughen up. These experiences helped me to develop the shield of strength I have today. I could of let it upset me and make me feel as though I wasn't good enough, but instead God used those experiences and made them into a shield, just like Captain America's. Not only do I have my shield of strength, but I also have God and my faith as a shield. I am reminded that God is my shield in in Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and My shield." Having a progressive disorder like Muscular Dystrophy is very challenging, and its easy to let it get you down and feel as though you don't have the strength to deal with it. Even though I didn't know that I had MD when I was younger, God helped me to use those experiences to create my shield of strength, so that I wouldn't let difficult experiences, like dealing with my progression, get me down. When we find ourselves going through challenges, or dealing with rejection and negativity, we have two choices, we can let it get us down or we can let it strengthen us. If we let it strengthen us, we can then use that strength as a shield to deal with whatever comes our way.