The Perfect Body

Most people, men and women alike, strive to achieve the perfect body.  But who really knows what the perfect body is?  Well, finally, after 48 years, I think I have found the answer.  I would love to take credit for it, but it was my 19 year old daughter, Amber, that showed me how to find the answer.  Amber was born with spina-bifida, a condition where the spine doesn't close, causing several conditions including paralysis, bowel and bladder problems, fluid on the brain, to just name a few.  I have watched, in awe, as she has completed anything that she has set out to do, no matter how hard it seems to be for her.  I remember when she was in kindergarten and she came home upset because they were doing the "bunny hop" at school and she couldn't hop.  I very carefully, but quickly, came up with an answer for her..."You aren't supposed to walk."  She looked up at me with a puzzled look and I continued, "When you were born, they told us you would never walk or crawl, so I don't think you are able to hop."  The rest of the evening, I watched as a very determined 5 year old with leg braces on struggled to lift both feet off of the ground, until bedtime, only to awaken in the morning and continue her quest.  Well, her hard work paid off, because by classtime that day, she was doing the bunny hop...what a marvelously strong little girl!  I have watched this little girl grow into a beautiful young woman, enduring more than I have endured in my 48 years, wishing more than a thousand times that I could take this from her.  One day as her and I were driving in our van, I asked her the question, "Amber, have you ever thought of going to a church and having a minister pray for you to be healed?"  She answered quickly, without much thought, "Why would I do that?"  I guess she noticed the loss for words I had and she continued, "God doesn't make mistakes, Mom.  He made me just the way I am because He wanted me this way."  WOW!  She had answered a question that I had never been able to answer...What is the perfect body?  The perfect body is JUST THE WAY GOD MADE YOU!  When a person gets his mind off of such insignificant things, and is happy in themself, living day to day becomes much simpler.  Thank you, Amber, for yet another lesson I have learned from you!  Love you dearly!