1.25.2010

Remember to play after every storm

Remember to play after every storm.
Storms aren't necessarily clouds with rain.
They're things that darken your day.



If you've read some of my posts when I initially started blogging, you might recall me mentioning a very special little boy, Mattie. If you don't recognize his name, you can visit his website and learn a bit about this amazing child. I first heard of Mattie when mom gave me a book of his poetry for my birthday. I have a deep passion for children who are differently-abled, so I was immediately drawn to Mattie's story of strength and courage.

Mattie will probably be the subject of numerous posts to come as I am currently reading Messenger written by his mother (who also suffers from the same rare form of muscular dystrophy...she has buried all four of her children). By the way, I don't recommend reading this book in public. I was in tears by the end of the first chapter, and all the Marta passengers around me were surely wondering about my mental state! Of course, this has yet to persuade me from reading on the train, but I thought I would give you fair warning.

So back to the storms. Mattie shared his life philosophy one day with a reporter, much to his mother's surprise as she had never heard him mention his "storms." Most people associate storms with fear, danger, gloom. Mattie looks past the storm. He sees the rain ceasing, straps on his boots, and jumps in the puddles! What a profound concept from a young boy who was confined to a wheelchair.

We all have our storms. Some come in the form of sadness, situational anger or despair, money woes, loneliness, failure, defeat. What a challenge he offers: play after the storm. No matter what it is that you face. If Mattie in his wheelchair strapped to 100 pounds of medical life support equipment can play after his storms, surely I can too.



If you would like to read more about Mattie, Messenger is currently available. Also, I would recommend reading his poetry starting with Heartsongs.

1 comment:

  1. aw thanks for sharing his story - I will pick up that book for sure - although I'm a mess and will for sure cry!

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