COLOURS OF LIFE
Iam one of the almost 600 million people Nick Vujicic has reached with his message of hope. His book, Life Without Limits, was my pick from Glendora Bookshop, Murtala Mohammed International Airport, to keep me company on a flight, recently.
One look at Nick’s photo, on the cover of this book, should make one curious enough to buy it to see what he has to say about ‘Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life’. Despite the fact that Nick was born without arms or legs, he has obtained a University degree, authored several books, he is an evangelist and an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker.
If anyone should be bitter, depressed and without hope, it would be Nick Vujicic. Rather, he has dedicated his life to encouraging others.
Nick suffered rejection from birth. His disability went undetected before he was born, so he came out as a bit of a surprise to the medical team and to his parents. The hospital staff initially kept the baby away from his Twenty-Five year-old midwife-mum. When they eventually showed him to her, she did not want to see or touch him. Dushka and Boris Vujicic actually considered putting their first born up for adoption. But when both sets of grandparents offered to raise him, they were encouraged to take on this special assignment.
His parents, both committed Christians, realised that God must have a purpose for Nick’s life, accepted their reality, determining to make the most of it. From the onset, it was decided that Nick would attend mainstream schools. This was a rude introduction to the real world, where Nick was not spared the experience of bullying.
The way Nick the first grader dealt with this challenge, teaches us a thing or two about facing our fears. The school bully, ‘Chucky’, loved to taunt Nick. One day ‘Chucky’, who was older and bigger, challenged him to a fight at the centre stage of the school playground. To save face, Nick accepted the invitation. News of the duel spread quickly and at lunch break, half the students trooped out to witness the show down. Even I had palpitations as I ‘followed’ the crowd to The Oval. For details of this encounter, you need to read the book yourself. To cut a long story short, the boy without limbs defeated the full-bodied bully, earning himself respect, fame and peace of mind!
Nick has struggled with depression. As a child he contemplated suicide, it was the thought of the hurt it would bring to his parents and his sibling (Aaron and Michelle), that restrained him. Nick postponed this plan for when he would turn Twenty-One. Thank God he voiced his intention to his brother. Aaron leaked it to their father, who made his son see reason to be alive. Nick, in turn, shows any of us who may walk this dark and lonely road, that the world would be deprived of our contribution if we end our lives.
Nick does not shy away from discussing his handicap, in relation to his faith in Christ. Does he believe God heals? Does he pray to be healed? His answer to both questions is ‘Yes’. He has hope that one day he would have limbs; either through a miracle or through scientific advancement. But even if this does not happen, Nick is committed to using his life to serve God and others.
Nick challenges the reader to go beyond praying for a miracle, but seeking to be a miracle to someone else. He shares the touching example of his relationship with Daniel Martinez, who, like him, was born with tetra-amelia syndrome. Daniel’s father brought him to meet Nick when he was just nineteen months. Both families have remained in touch, with Nick’s parents supporting Chris and Patty Martinez, as they raise their son. When he learnt to speak clearly, one of the earliest things Daniel said was ‘Swim like Nick’. Today he too is an avid swimmer. It looks like Nick’s audacious living has given a little boy without limbs the courage to yearn for Life Without Limits.
Humour is another powerful weapon with which Nick fights the good fight of faith. He has learnt to not take himself too seriously. In his books and videos, he puts you at ease with his jokes about his disability. Nick also loves to play pranks; sometimes he poses as a mannequin in a shop window and winks at passers-by, or on a plane he may get his carer to put him in the overhead bin, a sure surprise to passengers trying to stow away their hand luggage when they board!
Nick has a can-do spirit. His parents had their reservations when he expressed his desire to be a motivational speaker. They thought a career in accounting (which he had studied at Uni.) would be good – No doubt a sensible and safe option.
But Nick would not settle for ‘good’, he reached for ‘great’ and here we are today.
Nick did not start off addressing millions. He has his own story of humble beginnings and his fair share of disappointments. But with a deep sense of purpose, an attitude of gratitude and an infectious joie de vivre, Nick uses his setbacks as stepping stones to higher grounds, encouraging others along the way. He challenges us to accept and love ourselves because we are all ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ (Psalm 139:14).
Nick is now married with two sons and two daughters. God gave the rest of his family limbs! The next book of his I would go for is Love Without Limits. On the cover is a photo of Nick Vujicic and his beautiful wife, Kanae.