That is what Peyton taught me.
She is an incredibly small, but mighty human. At only 9 years old, she put a sign up at her parents’ store that read:
Hi my name is Peyton. I have cancer. Cancer is not as bad as it seems sometimes. It changed my life. I changed the way I eat and changed the way I think about others and life. You should enjoy every minute of your life. You should start from the end of your life if you know what I mean. I am doing chemo right now. I WILL BEAT THIS CANCER’S BUTT!!!!!
Can you even believe her?! She completed all of her chemotherapy and her final scan was clear! She believed it and it was so.
I think the difference-maker was not her age, her doctors, or her treatment plan. It was her boldness. She told me how she believed God had already healed her while still in the midst of treatment. The mind is a powerful thing. Faith is a powerful thing. Put the two together and big things happen.
She is a true testament that we can not be passive when life happens. We have to choose a path. Then we have to actively walk it.
Choose the right path for you
Peyton paints. She found painting to be a therapeutic excercise that also had a purpose. She painted for her own well being through the difficult process, and she also painted to raise money to help with medical costs. She attached a motivation to her means of processing which is absolutely brilliant.
Personally, I make intuitive decisions. That’s how I’m wired. I don’t spend a lot of time contemplating things and can usually come to a decision rather quickly. The first step for me is simply deciding how I feel about something. To help me with that I journal, draw, read and pray over decisions. I also have a tendency to map out an entire plan of action about something for days or even months on end and then wake up one morning and realize it’s crap. I don’t look at that as a waste of time though, but as a way for me to visually process something before making a big decision.
On the other hand, I know others are like my husband. He likes to mull things over and keep his options open. He’ll make safe, calculated moves in the direction he wants to go until he’s finally there. I think this is a very responsible way to move toward a big decision or goal, but I’m much too impatient for that. His method of finding direction includes talking with people (he’s also an extrovert) and doing manual labor to clear his head of heavy thoughts. These tactics help him find clarity to calculate the next small step.
The point is, we’re all wired differently. You have to choose something that works for you. You cannot sit idle in front of a big life event and hope that things will just work out. You need to work it out.
Have the guts to walk your path
Be bold like Peyton. Seriously, think about her. She was presented with a huge obstacle and she made a choice. Because she chose to believe in her path and was motivated by that belief, she persevered. Trials along the way taught her perspective. She can literally “start from the end of her life,” just like she wants you to – right now. She got a second chance because she took it.
Don’t spend one more moment letting your life just “work out” the way it’s supposed to. Be an active participant.
Take your second chance and live big!
I believe in you.
