I need to share this!

At the age of seventeen I graduated from high school.  I had taken welding shop in high school and I thought that would be my lifetime career.  But first, I decided to join the Army.

When I took the Army aptitude test they found me most suitable for Army finance which surprised me because I never considered math to be my strong subject.

That made little difference because during basic training I developed problems with my feet.  I made it through basic but I didn’t last long in the Army.  Five months and seventeen days after I started basic I was discharged with what the Army doctors called “social and behavior problems.” 

Those Problems were because of the fact that I was unable to walk without pain.  I found myself skipping meals and my morale was quickly destroyed.

Once I got home to my family, my mother and father didn’t know what to do so they went to a state program to find help and I was sent to Children’s Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland where they diagnosed my problem as fallen arches.  They had to rebuild both feet.  For the next two years I was in and out of the hospital and in a wheel chair while the feet were in casts and healing.

The Maryland Department of Vocational Rehabilitation picked up the tab and then sent me to school to learn another trade.  It was quite evident I was not going to be a welder.

At first I was angry at the U.S. Army.  How could they not see this physical problem and how did I ever pass the physical to get into the Army in the first place.

That anger has gone.  I now know the irony of a young man whose feet decided to drop just as he faced the first challenge of his life.  Why wouldn’t the doctors think, “Oh, he’s just bucking for a section eight?  So, let’s give him one.

I attended the National Academy of Broadcasting in Washington DC and started a career in Radio.

This was when I met my wife.  I fell madly for her from the moment I first set my eyes on her.  Eventually she and I were married.

You may ask where is this going.  I will tell you.  Ann and I had three children and we now have five grandchildren.  Over the years I have suffered a heart attack, been through numerous operations find my health to be a great source of limitation.

The Bible teaches all things work for the good of those who love the Lord.  I would point out it does not say all good things.  It says all things.  Even the bad things can work for the good of those who love the Lord if they keep the faith.

Going back to the time when I was in radio, I found myself selling and producing radio ads for businesses.  One day a TV channel opened up in our town.  During one of my sales presentations a prospective buyer said, “Why buy radio.  Television can show my product and you know a picture is worth a thousand words.”  I just smiled and said,

“You give me a thousand words and I will paint you a much prettier picture.”  I really believed that and I still do.

This is why I love to write.  Painting with words is a challenging art but the end product is only limited by the reader.

Has life treated me unfairly?  I think not.  Life has been a challenge worth living and I always loved a challenge.  The next time things go wrong for you consider this.  There must be a reason for this or God would not allow it to happen.

God Bless,

Lew Duffey