Life Without Limits

Posted by LisaV | 0 comments

Recently our family read Nick Vujicic’s book, Life without Limits. If you’ve never seen Nick’s videos on YouTube (here are two examples: Never Give Up and Life Without Limits), it can be a life-transforming experience. The videos show Nick diving, surfing, fishing, playing soccer, golfing, and speaking to children around the world. These may not seem like extraordinary activities for some of us, but Nick was born without arms or legs. In the book, Nick expands on his life from the moment of his birth through the difficult growing up years to his happy life now.

My husband had our boys write book reports on three lessons they learned and how they can apply the lessons to their lives. When I read what they had written, I got a bit misty-eyed. Our 11-year-old’s book report is below.

Lessons Learned

1. You should be content. You shouldn’t look at what you don’t have; instead you should look at what you have. Sometimes we like to complain about everything we don’t have, but we forget what we do have. Nick has no limbs but he is still happy and thankful for the stuff he does have.
2. Fear can be good and bad. Fears make what you’re scared of worse than it really is. You shouldn’t let your fears keep you from living your fullest. Fear can also help you do better. Nick is still afraid of speaking to large groups, but he uses the fear of messing up to practice his speech more.
3. Failure can help you. One way is it can teach you. When you fail you should find out what you did wrong and practice the right way. Then the next time you will probably do better. Another way is it motivates you. When we lose we can give up or try harder. Losing also helps you appreciate success more. For example, it would feel awesome to hit a home run after striking out the whole season. But if you hit home runs the whole season, then it wouldn’t be as special.

Application

1. I need to be thankful for what I have and stop complaining. If Nick can be thankful without arms and legs, it should be easier for me since I have limbs. But too often I complain about things like, I’m too short, or I don’t want to do this. I should be thankful I’m not the shortest and that I can do many things.
2. I should try new things even if I’m scared of them. When there is something new I could do I should just try it, and if I still don’t like it, then I won’t have to keep doing it. I know I haven’t tried new things like martial arts.
3. I need to never give up. I give up a lot. Even if in baseball my team is down by 20 runs, I can still try my hardest. The game isn’t over until it’s over. There is a sports saying that says, “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

I found our 14-year-old’s report to be insightful into his teenage mind.

Lessons Learned

1. Do not let other people put limitations on you. For example, the author Nick Vujicic has no arms and legs but he can surf, swim, write books, go on tour around the world speaking, and many more things. If a guy with no limbs can surf, just think of what you can do.
2. Do take a ridiculous risk every day, but consider the consequences. For example, jumping off a cliff might seem fun but the consequence is death. You should not let fear stop you from taking risks though. You shouldn’t sit in your house all day because you might die. There are healthy fears also, like fear of wild animals, but it shouldn’t stop you from having a pet.
3. When down, lift somebody else up. There will always be someone who is doing worse than you. For example in his book Nick Vujicic tells of his trip to South Africa. There he met starving people that were doing way worse than he was. He writes that his trip changed his perspective on life. He was moved so much that he gave all of his life savings to build an orphanage.

Application

1. I will not limit myself. If a limbless man can swim, surf, and do countless other things, I will achieve more. I should not care about what others think I can and can’t do.
2. I will take more risks. I will not let my fears weigh me down. I will try lots of new and strange things. I will also do something ridiculous every day and try to consider the consequences.
3. I should be more grateful for what I do have and help other people with their needs. I should compliment others more and not tear them down.

I learned many of the same lessons as our sons. The book reminded me of what our Pastor said last Wednesday night. As Christians, we need to stop living the American dream and start living the glory of God. That would truly be a life without limits.

Lisa Van Dong has been teaching her two sons since 2004 and attempts to incorporate study, work, service, and play into their homeschooling days. She takes an eclectic approach to homeschooling and enjoys reading, writing, editing, and essential oils. Lisa blogs publicly at Pockets of Time and privately at Scooter and B.