Lessons from the Students’ Marathon 2012 (Part 1 of 3)

I was
at the Finish Line, handing out the winning cards to the runners as they
arrived. Things were happening so fast I didn’t notice when he picked the 5th
position card and ran across the line.

But later, when Martin Tabu, a Senior 3 student of
Millennium Secondary School, Yei, mounted the stage to receive his award, the
crowd roared with applause and great joy. To our shock, he was disabled.  His right hand from about 3inches above the
wrist was cut-off.

The
Honorable Commissioner was so moved he promised the young man more incentives
for his gallantry.

He became an instant lesson and an example, not just to
disabled folks like him but to all of us.

Who’d have imagined that a disabled Martin Tabu could outrun hundreds of
able-body young men of his age to win a scholarship and other prizes at this
Marathon? He’d never run a Marathon before, but by registering to participate,
he expressed his confidence and showcased his hope.

Having won, he’s made believers out of many, including me.
Now, we know what this boy has always believed- there’s more in me.

The disability we see, feel or imagine in life may just be
a distraction if we permit it.

God acknowledged the determination He weaved into the heart
of man when He testified, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then
nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” Gen 11:6

It took a man among those wandering souls who believed in
himself well enough to move from saying- I can, to motivate and mobilize others
to say, we can. They began and could have-

Our disabilities or inadequacies may be obvious and
daunting, but nothing and no one can limit us more than ourselves through our fears. We must conquer our fears to enter and taste the fullness of our call.

Audre
Lorde said, “When I dare to be powerful- to
use my strength in the service of my vision then it becomes less and less
important whether I am afraid.” I agree with her.

You cannot be
greater or better than God’s dream for your life. That dream is within reach.
Seek and strive for it and like this good Adidas Ad below, your mantra may soon
be- Impossible is Nothing.