Friends have watched as I went back to school four years ago, juggling a ridiculous load with work and family. Then about a year and a half ago strange things started happening with my body. It was Parkinson's then it wasn't. For almost a year, there has been no name or explanation, but I still haven't worked in 10 months.
Now, we have a name. And the prognosis is a little worse than what anybody had hoped. With that knowledge, I am now getting asked something new. People are asking me, "What are you going to do now?
I begin learning how to keep myself safe and healthy to avoid any life threatening problems. I balance the side effects of medicines with the symptoms they are intended to relieve. But that's not what people are asking about.
What people are asking is, "What about ministry?" They're asking, "What about riding?" And they're asking, "What about your family?"
In short, nothing changes. Riding is less important because I don't have the money to compensate for what my body can no longer do. Everything else is just the same with more importance. I must be a living example to my family. And now I must approach ministry with even more fervor and zeal. After all, I thought I had a life time to change the world. It turns out time is the only thing that's changed.