Live While Hurting

This is Peter Rosenberger. Sometimes I like to put out bonus materials for the podcast, music from Gracie or myself or things such as that. In this particular case, I wanted to include a chapter from my audio book, the audio version of Hope for the Caregiver that I thought you'd find meaningful. It's called Live Even While Hurting. And a lot of caregivers I have found, and I did this myself, think, okay, I will put my life on hold while I do this.

And when they get better or worse, then I'll resume my life. But that's not the healthy way for us to live. This is our life, no matter what's going on around us. And we can live a life of meaning and purpose if we choose to, no matter what's going on. So enjoy this chapter from Hope for the Caregiver, the audio version. You can get it at Audible through Amazon, and the book is available wherever books are sold.

Go to Hopeforthecaregiver.com. Chapter 31, Keep Living Even While Hurting. We deem those happy who, from the experience of life, have learned to bear its ills without being overcome by them.

Juvenile. And Phyllis Batam said, There are two ways of meeting difficulties. You alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them. Cardinal Joseph Bernardin said, Live the life you were given as well as you can. My wife didn't have to go to Africa and launch a prosthetic limb ministry. She could have easily chosen to focus on herself and her own challenges. She purposed, however, to give out of her lack, and in doing so, she continues to touch a great many lives, even though she currently has limited travel. She saw something worthwhile that did not reduce her pain, but rather transcended it. The lesson I learned from her is, it's possible and rewarding to live a full and rich life while in pain.

We don't have to wait until we feel good before we participate in life, and we don't have to wait until we're healthy, quote unquote, before we succeed. I remember a special night in Madison Square Garden right after President George W. Bush gave his acceptance speech for the nomination in 2004. Invited to be on the platform behind the president following Gracie's performance at the convention two nights prior, we had to be in place on the stage early in the evening. For several hours, we sat there while my wife's pain levels escalated. She knew she would be uncomfortable.

She knew it would be a long night, but we lived in the moment together. And after the president left, we danced together among the fallen balloons and confetti while country singer Leanne Womack stood just feet away singing her hit song, I Hope You Dance. Gracie did opt to forego wearing dress shoes in order to be a bit more comfortable. You can still see us in pictures sitting behind the president's left shoulder. Gracie's robotic-looking legs are in plain view with her bright white sneakers, which I think is hysterical.

If Gracie and the president of the United States didn't mind, no one else should. If we wait until we feel good or until things are going our way before we choose to engage in life, we are missing out on undiscovered joy and deeply rewarding moments. We are missing out on life.

We're as miserable or as happy as we choose to be. And I ended that chapter with the quote from I Hope You Dance. And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance. Some of you know the remarkable story of Peter's wife, Gracie. And recently, Peter talked to Gracie about all the wonderful things that have emerged from her difficult journey. Take a listen. Gracie, when you envision doing a prosthetic limb outreach, did you ever think that inmates would help you do that?

Not in a million years. When you go to the facility run by CoreCivic and you see the faces of these inmates that are working on prosthetic limbs that you have helped collect from all over the country, that you put out the plea for, and they're disassembling. You see all these legs, like what you have, your own prosthetic legs.

And arms. When you see all this, what does that do to you? Makes me cry because I see the smiles on their faces. And I know, I know what it is to be locked someplace where you can't get out without somebody else allowing you to get out.

Of course, being in the hospital so much and so long. These men are so glad that they get to be doing, as one band said, something good finally with my hands. Did you know before you became an amputee that parts of prosthetic limbs could be recycled? No, I had no idea.

I thought of peg leg, I thought of wooden legs, I never thought of titanium and carbon legs and flex feet and sea legs and all that. I never thought about that. As you watch these inmates participate in something like this, knowing that they're helping other people now walk, they're providing the means for these supplies to get over there, what does that do to you, just on a heart level? I wish I could explain to the world what I see in there. And I wish that I could be able to go and say, this guy right here, he needs to go to Africa with us. I never not feel that way.

Every time, you know, you always make me have to leave, I don't want to leave them. I feel like I'm at home with them and I feel like that we have a common bond that I would have never expected that only God could put together. Now that you've had an experience with it, what do you think of the faith-based programs that CoreCivic offers? I think they're just absolutely awesome and I think every prison out there should have faith-based programs like this because the return rate of the men that are involved in this particular faith-based program and other ones like it, I know about this one, is just an amazingly low rate compared to those who don't have them. And I think that that says so much.

That doesn't have anything to do with me. It just has something to do with God using somebody broken to help other broken people. If people want to donate a used prosthetic limb, whether from a loved one who passed away or, you know, somebody who outgrew them, donated some of your own, how do they do that? Where do they find them? Oh, please go to standingwithhope.com slash recycle. Standingwithhope.com slash recycle. Thanks, Gracie.