Take Two
Submitted by Bryan from Roselle, IL on 18 Aug 2010
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No one has really ever accused me of being in my right mind. In fact, my teenager has openly accused me of being crazy! My wife agrees with my teenager, but she adds with a twinkle, “It’s a good kind of crazy!” My patients agree. It wasn‘t always this way. “It’s not what you do when you get knocked down that matters, but what you do when you get back up.” We had a new town-home, a car for each of us, high potential professional careers, a consistent church life, and a new healthy baby. Then the other shoe dropped. When my daughter was 14 months old, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Within 21 months her mother was dead. I was 28 years old and a father of a 2 year old little girl. Now exactly how DO you potty train…..??? I was devastated. My up-and-coming career was on hold. Really, what do you say to your toddler when she tells you that she doesn’t want mommy in heaven? I played the game Pretty, Pretty Princess repeatedly; allowed hair clips to be clipped in my crew cut; worked part time; went to church; and became content being a quiet and shy introvert. Then I met Mary. She was lively, pretty, and a bit crazy. The quiet and shy introvert married, sold two townhouses, bought a house, and started a contract physical therapy business- all in the same year. That wasn’t even the crazy part. I had a greater vision and God had bigger plans. Who in their right mind starts a new clinic at the beginning of a bad economy, January 2008? Solidly convinced by my wife and daughter that I’m not actually in my right mind, I did. A little naivety, a little craziness, a lot of enthusiasm, and a lot more debt and the new clinic is in its third year. We somehow are paying the bills. No longer the quiet and shy introvert, I have embraced yet another challenge that may prove I’m crazy: to become totally debt free. Not only that, I want to contribute significantly more to the local Christian school’s scholarship fund. I want to provide funds for our church’s college and career kids for mission trips. Finally, I want to continue to contribute to the scholarship fund of our local Chamber of Commerce. We have to take our business to the next level with a lot more patients, but we will do it! You have to wake up every day and decide: Will I go for it today or will I just let life happen to me? There is no doubt that it’s my turn to be a strong, positive, enthusiastic (and yes, crazy) influence in the lives of my patients and community. I give them the quote that means so much to me: “It’s not what you do when you get knocked down that matters, but what you do when you get back up!” Now get up and do 10 more!!
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