Lessons from a One-Legged Sandpiper

Sometimes life seems like a one-legged journey in a two-legged world.

Off-balanced.

An effort to accomplish.

A hindered hop from one hurdle to another.

I wondered if that’s how this sandpiper felt.

One leg or two, he could still soar.

But to walk through the everyday ins and outs of life; to live with an unchangeable circumstance day after day; to survive one-legged in a two-legged world took courage, determination, an effort others hardly noticed.

I doubt this one-legged sandpiper thought much about it.

He hopped alongside the others determined to survive in this two-legged world.

He had a life to live.

And he made it work.

When he hopped by, I almost missed him.

I almost missed his silent courage; his seemingly effortless determination.

I almost missed this tiny reminder that obstacles can be overcome; hurdles can produce courage.

And life doesn’t have to stop just because it’s hard.

This one-legged sandpiper kept going.

Is there anything stopping us?