Find creative ways to overcome personal disabilities

"I cannot go with these, for I am not used to them."

- 1 Samuel 17:39 (AMP)

"Go ahead, I double dare you!"

How many times when you were a child did you say this phrase or hear it said to you?

I recently thought about these words when pondering something I had been wanting to do. Due to some physical limitations, I couldn't do it the same way most people do. I needed a little creative thinking. I dared myself to get motivated and take the chance. However, when I compared myself with others, I didn't really feel equipped to perform the task.

Have you ever felt inept or disabled? Many of us do suffer some sort of disability. It may be physical or mental or emotional.

One of my grandchildren suffered learning disabilities that at times made them feel like they didn't quite match up to society's norm. However, when we face battles such as these, we have to think outside the box.

I heard a story about a man who suffered a stroke. Suddenly, he had to learn a different way of doing things. He called his disability "differ-ability."

One of my favorite Bible accounts is about a young man named, David, who was instructed by God, to slay a giant in the land. David had been a shepherd boy all his life, and had not fought in an army. When he went before the king and asked if he could take a turn at slaying the giant, the king agreed and gave him a sword and a suit of armor to wear.

David tried the armor on, but felt restricted by it. He was used to protecting his sheep using a slingshot and stones. So he asked the king to grant him permission to fight the giant the way he battled lions and bears. The king gave him permission.

I would imagine most people in the crowd thought David's tactic would never work. However, David followed his sense of differ-ability and successfully slew the giant and became commander in chief of the army.

I believe we all have some differ-ability. But we strive to fit into society's norms, and fall short. We try so hard to be like everyone else when we were created to be different. Instead, if we follow our creative desires to succeed in a different way, we should stop and discern if God may be encouraging us, like he did with David, to do things in ways that work for us, but achieve the same results.

If that's the case, we can inspire ourselves by saying, "Go ahead, I double dare you!"

• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She can be contacted at P.O. Box 532, Grayslake, IL 60030; (847) 543-8413; or Annetteebudzban@aol.com.