Gifted

Now that Christmas has come and gone, most of us are enjoying the new items we received as gifts during the holidays. I remember when I was a kid, I would spend the entire day playing with my new toys, it didn’t matter if I had anything to eat that day, I just wanted to have fun.

Gifts are useless if we don’t put them to use, isn’t that why we want them in the first place? What good is a new car or bicycle if we’re not going to go anywhere on them? We have each been blessed with gifts; some material, others physical. Even the simplest things in our lives can be gifts.

Disabled persons have unique gifts that most people don’t understand. Unfortunately, most of us don’t consider them gifts, because they make us different from average people.

• Experiences
• Expectations
• Encouraging stories

In the brain injury community, there is a saying, “Every brain injury is different.” There are different forms of brain injuries, each with different effects on the body and mind: concussions, strokes, traumatic brain injuries, and acquired brain injuries. Each of these affects the individual’s ability to function. For the last 25 years of my life, I’ve learned to appreciate each day for the gift it is.

Gifted?

Most people look forward to and expect big things in life, as I stated before persons with disabilities understand that the simple things in life are a gift also. If you have ever gone through a health struggle, you have experienced this realization that we take for granted so much in life.

What most people take for granted, disabled persons cherish. We all have different gifts and abilities that we must learn to appreciate and celebrate. Even within the writing community, there is a diversity of experiences, voices, and even types of writing.

5 Basic Types of Writing Found in Literature

1. Narrative writing
2. Descriptive writing
3. Persuasive writing
4. Expository writing
5. Creative writing

It is common for these categories to overlap as writers attempt to convey their message, but their purpose for writing remains. A writer’s goal is always to communicate, but these are the different ways we flex our writing muscles.

“Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and the only thing you have to offer.”

Barbara Kingsolover

If you have ever broken a bone in your body, you know how quickly your muscles weaken; you also experience the agony of being limited to certain actions. A flexible writer is like a flexible muscle.

Flexible writers have the ability to flex their writing muscles and different ways to convey a specific thought. The gift of the written word is often taken for granted by many people.

Let me encourage you by saying this, if everyone wrote and communicated beautifully through this art, we would all be jobless because no one would need us.

“Writing is a hellish task, best snuck up on, walked on the head, robbed, and left for dead.”

Author Amory McDonald

Writers Write

In the early days after my accident, I spent a lot of time wanting to walk again, but I wasn’t able to even attempt it. It was then when I first heard the word ambulatory, which is the medical term for being able to physically move on your own.

If you’ve ever watched little children learning to walk, you know they don’t start out walking, they must first learn and be trained to walk.

Stages of learning to walk:

• Creeping
• Crawling
• Stepping
• Pulling up
• Cruising

Each phase is meant to build up a child’s strength and muscle memory, the gift is when they finally pass each stage of the process.

A writing career works the same way; writers must first learn the craft and then begin writing. Writing a lot is the only way will build our muscles. But, as Jerry B Jenkins teaches, “Don’t start your career by writing a book or a large project, even the best writers have to start somewhere.”

Every writer must build their writing muscles, even if they are gifted!

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.