Victory!

Back in the days when I was suffering from polio, when I was released from the hospital, the doctors recommended to my parents that they encourage me to use the slingshot that they had made for me while I was paralyzed. I used this slingshot as exercise to build up my arm muscles that I had lost during my paralysis. I soon fell in love with the slingshot so much that it came to be a part of me. I was so obsessed with the device that at first I shot at everything: dogs, chickens, fruit, birds, or whatever else I saw. I never killed anything at that time because I was so weak. My parents taught me that this tool was not made to harm things just for the joy of harming things, but the slingshot must be respected and used just as I would use any other tool, like a knife or machete, when it was necessary. I understood that concept very well even from a young age. I learned to use the slingshot so well that later on, I used it to hunt for food.
After we lost our home and were forced to live in the wild, the slingshot became a very useful tool. Using it, I was able to kill iguanas, armadillos, rabbits, and birds of all kinds to help feed my family. The tool was useful even for reaching fruit in trees that I couldn’t climb. I also used the slingshot to help me in throwing a rope up trees I wanted to climb, and it proved useful for sending that rope across a creek or up a cliff too. Other times I would use it to throw a rock to show the dogs where an animal was hiding or to direct them to help me encircle an animal in a tree, so we could bring it home for dinner. It also served as protection for me, such as when cows or dogs tried to chase me.
One time when I was carrying a heavy load of firewood on my back, my dogs scattered in fear. I looked up to see an enormous snake staring at me. It was at least eight feet long and six inches thick and had its head raised in a position to strike. We came face to face ten feet apart. Slowly I put the bundle of firewood down and reached for my slingshot. I shot the snake in the head without killing it. However, doing that was enough to make the snake take off.
Another time I used my slingshot to save my cousin from being killed by a cow. One day that cousin disregarded my warning and went up to play with a calf who was known for having a very mean mother. Suddenly, the mama cow appeared and began to charge at my cousin. Since she was so big and had very sharp horns, I knew he was in trouble. I pictured him dead. Quickly, I grabbed my slingshot and sent a rock to hit the cow on the side of her head. This made her fall down, although it didn’t cause her any long-term damage. But that gave my cousin enough time to run away.
During my family’s period of homelessness, the slingshot was easy and cheap to make. It came to be a very valuable tool in helping to keep my family alive as we were wandering the wild. With it, I was able to help contribute with food and help protect my family as well.
Looking back at the terrible disease I went through, I’m sure no one thought it would bring a benefit to anyone. But if I had not had polio, I would not have become paralyzed and needed the slingshot to build up my muscles in the first place. So God took something that seemed like a tragedy and made something good come out of it. The expertise I gained in using my slingshot became a blessing in providing food and protection for my family during our hardest times.