If a person's wealth was measured by the number of good friends he has, I think I'd have to be on the list of the richest men in America. And the good thing about friends, you can share them with others and yet your total net worth doesn't decrease at all. You can "share your wealth," and you're still just as wealthy as you were before. Today I'm going to put that theory into practice. I want to share one of my good friends with you...that way, she can be your friend, too. Let me tell you just a little bit about her. She's the type of person that when you look at her, you think, "Now here's a person who has it all together." She's a gorgeous twenty-nine year old with a great husband, two beautiful kids (one boy and one girl), a promising career, and an athletic ability that is hard to match. (Two weeks ago when we ran the Mobile Marathon, she finished the 26.2 mile run in just over 4 hours and 4 minutes.) But the main reason I want to introduce her to you today is because of one other asset that she possesses: She is what we often refer to as "a strong woman." She doesn't let a "slap in the face" get her down, and when she tripped and fell, both literally and figuratively, she found a way to get back up again.
Rather than you hearing it from me, it will be best if you can hear from her in her own words, so let me introduce her to you, and I'll step aside and let her tell you her story. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce to you, my good friend, Amber Zambie.
Preston
If I could send a note to myself three years ago, it would say:
Dear Amber- Please slow down and enjoy your life more. Be kinder to yourself; it's your running on fumes and controlling personality that got you here. Seek friends and hobbies...and God. Healing will come when you are gentle to yourself and when you give it all over to Him. Love, You.
My 25th year was hard. It wasn't any harder than anyone else's life and certainly not the worst. But in my eyes at the time, it was rough. I remember being extremely mad at my parents for not preparing me for this part of my life. I was having chronic headaches, low, I mean, NO energy to play with my kids or do anything else...and miserable from all of the above. As a Type- A personality, this was horrible for my schedule. There wasn't time for it. By the end of summer, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and died five days later. This was another thing I wasn't prepared for in life and it hit me hard. I really think this was the final straw.
Two weeks after my 26th birthday, I woke up with a silly foot. A foot that made me fall a lot and refused to wear heels! I waited to see my orthopedist because I seriously thought it was another one of my crazy issues that would pass on its own. He said it was real and referred me to a neurologist. Within three months, I was weak all over and couldn't walk on my own. I didn't use a walker or a cane because I didn't know what was wrong and wasn't resorting to aid yet. There were walls for that or husband or parents...not walkers. The final diagnosis came after a slew of tests and a trip to UAB (Univeristy of Alabama at Birmingham). Multiple Sclerosis: a demyelating disease that attacks your central nervous system. (Explains why my parents didn't tell me I would be miserable--they didn't know.)
As I'm writing this, it has been exactly three years since the funky foot. I no longer have any symptoms of my MS. I run marathons, adventure race with my husband and play harder than ever with my babies. I am so grateful for God's grace. I know I was far away from Him during this time in my life, yet He was right there beside me during it all. I don't understand why we have to go through these things but He got my attention. I would never ask for Him to take this experience away. My life and my family are different because of what we all experienced during this time. I do have to remind myself daily to slow down. It's my nature to fill the schedule. God made me that way too. I have learned to love myself. To appreciate the small things I am able to do and to do my best at them. Some of the things that seemed so important then, things that literally made me sick, are so small now. We only get one life on earth; I hope I learn as much as He wants me to know.
Amber
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