All That is Positive: Courage by Pamela Walls

[Guest guest]

Pamela Walls Talks About Courage*

When I was a kid and my class had to choose team-mates for sports, I was always

the last person picked because I was THE slowest runner in school. While those

were difficult moments for my ego, I also had a mom who made me feel loved and

teachers who complimented the strengths they saw in me. So I made the most of

those gifts. I've come to believe that challenges and problems are truly

opportunities. There are moments they sure don't feel like it, but once past,

you can often see how you had to exercise a new " muscle " to get through and,

because of that, your overall health (or mental attitude) improved.

Since I didn't get diagnosed with CMT until I was 33, I didn't know to limit

myself while growing up. As a teen, I backpacked through Hawaii, got a job as a

sailor on a 68-foot ship, jumped from a 45-foot waterfall, and swam with sea

snakes. I graduated from UCSC with a degree in Biology and Science Writing, did

field studies on wild elephant seals and studied humpback whales from a rubber

Zodiac. But the most exciting adventure was raising two daughters!

When my oldest was just six, she was diagnosed with CMT. In all honesty, I was

devastated for a week. But then I read a Psalm that changed my attitude: " The

Lord does not delight in the strength of a horse or in the legs of a man. He

delights in those who fear him and put their trust in his unfailing love. " I

suddenly saw our lives through God's eyes, through his value system. And that's

when our handicap turned into an opportunity to say, " You don't have to have a

perfect body to be a success. "

I wanted to write her stories about a spunky heroine who couldn't outrun the bad

guys but who could out-think them. And so my series for pre-teens, " Abby and

the South Seas Adventures, " was born.

Abby Kendall, my heroine, lives in 1848, before CMT was even discovered, but she

also is the last one picked for relay races in her one-room school. Luckily,

she has a best friend, Luke, who sees other fantastic qualities in her and

together they voyage through the South Pacific in a series of adventures where

they escape pirates, komodo dragons, and shipwrecks! We sold over 100,000 books

and they are in libraries across the country, educating readers about CMT, but

also encouraging them to stay positive and filled with hope because, if Abby can

do it, so can they.

I've had paralyzed adults, children who have lost limbs in accidents and some

who are just depressed write to me saying that Abby has encouraged them. My

favorite letter came from a little girl named Hannah, who wrote, " I want to

someday have the courage Abby has. "

It's easy to feel that life is " unfair " because we didn't get a normal body.

But the longer I live, the more I see that every person on earth has to deal

with something—whether it's physical, emotional or mental. Each one of us is a

blend of strengths and weaknesses! What's helped me is seeing my life through

God's eyes. He loves me just the way I am and he values what's in my heart the

most.

Pamela Walls " Abby " books can be found on amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Pamela-Walls/e/B001KIC04K/ref=sr_tc_img_2_0?qid=1284923958\

& sr=1-2-ent

* All rights are reserved by Pamela J. Walls and future use must be with

permission.