The great inspirational author Norman Vincent Peale once said， “Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark your life seems to be， raise your sights and see the possibilities. Always see them， for they are always there.”
You may never be a Presbyterian or a Rotarian， but you should always be a card-carrying Possibilitarian. Without trust in the possibilities for your life， where would you be？ Where would any of us be？ Our hopes for the future give us momentum. They keep us moving forward through the inevitable hard times， the discouragement， and the despair.
My Possibilitarian tendencies showed up early in life. I was six or seven when I wrote and illustrated my first book. The title was The Unicorn That Had No Wings. It’s no deep mystery where I came up with that concept， but I have to say that my little parable drawn from my own life still offers a nice message about faith. （Don‘t worry. It’s short. I was only six when I wrote it.）
Once there was a mother unicorn who was having a baby.
When the unicorn grew， it didn‘t have any wings.
The mother unicorn said， “What happened to her wings？”
When the unicorn went for a walk， she could see unicorns flying in the sky. Then a little boy came to the unicorn and said： “What happened to your wings？”
The unicorn answered： “I didn’t grow any wings， little boy.”
Then the little boy said： “I‘ll try and make you someplastic wings.”
It took him an hour to make the plastic wings for the unicorn.
When the boy was finished， he asked the unicorn if hecould go on the unicorn’s back， and the unicorn said to the boy： “Yes you can.”
So they went for a run， then the unicorn started to fly， and the unicorn shouted： “It worked. It worked.”
When the unicorn stopped flying， the boy got off the unicorn‘s back. Then the unicorn went back in the sky.The little boy said to the unicorn. “Congratulations， unicorn！”
The little boy went back home. He told his mum and his two sisters and his brother what had happened to the unicorn.
The unicorn lived happily ever after.
The End
We all wish to live happily ever after. Even if you believe you can handle the hard times and savor the good times， disappointments will occur. But the happy ending should always be your goal. Why not shoot for it？
PATIENCE REWARDED
My team at Life Without Limbs helped me plan a World Outreach Tour in 2008 with the goal of visiting fourteen countries. In the early planning， we set a budget and held a fundraising campaign to cover our expenses for the trip. We didn’t have professional fund-raisers on staff then， and we fell far short of our goal. We raised only about one third of what we felt we needed. I forged ahead and started the tour with visits to Colombia， Ukraine， Serbia， and Romania. When I returned home， my advisers were concerned that we didn‘t have the funds to continue with the rest of the tour.
My uncle Batta is a successful businessman in California， and he serves on my board. He made an executive decision to cancel two major stops on the rest of my planned tour. Money was not the only reason.
“We are getting more and more reports that it might not be safe to travel because of unrest in India， especially Mumbai， and Indonesia，” he said. “Since we are short of our budget anyway， I think it would be wise to visit those countries another time.”
My uncle is a very wise man， and I didn’t argue with him. I told him that I trusted him. Then I went to a speaking engagement in Florida， where there were 450 volunteers just to handle the huge crowd. I was there to inspire them， but my audience charged me up with their enthusiasm. On the way home to California， I was so encouraged by the reception I received in Florida that I felt an overpowering need to continue our world tour as planned.
I prayed and prayed for guidance. I felt that I should go to India and Indonesia despite our insufficient funds and the signs of danger. I believed we could serve others and the rest would take care of itself. Uncle Batta invited me to dinner at his home to discuss my desire to continue based on faith and not on funds.
As we were talking over dinner， I became very emotional about the situation. I just felt so strongly that this was something I needed to do. Uncle Batta understands me and my drive to bring my message to as many people as I can.
“Let‘s see where the Lord leads us in the next few weeks，” he said patiently.
You don’t give up when faced with challenges. You don‘t run away from them either. You assess the situation， look for solutions， and trust that whatever happens， it will come together for the good. Patience is essential. You plant the seeds. You weather the storms.
You wait for the harvest. Mostly when you encounter an obstacle， you don’t do anything foolish. You don‘t bash your head against it. You don’t turn around in defeat. You look for the best solution while trusting that every obstacle serves a purpose.
When the money wasn‘t there to complete our world tour， we didn’t rush out and spend money we didn‘t have. We prayed. We looked for solutions. We believed that if the door remained closed for now， it would one day open to another opportunity.
The important point to remember is that you will always find a way as you keep looking for it. You may have to adjust your goals to the realities. But as long as you keep breathing， you should remember that the possibilities are still there.
That said， I’ve got to tell you this： We didn‘t receive a single answer to our prayers for a way to finance the rest of tour. But then an amazing series of events unfolded.
A few days after my dinner with Uncle Batta， a fellow named Bryan Hart， who’d heard me speak in Florida， called and offered our foundation a large sum of money as a gift.
Then our contacts in Indonesia called to say that they‘d rented out two stadiums for us in Hong Kong. They promised to make sure our costs were covered if we came.
Two days after that a California charitable organization came up with an even greater sum that covered the remaining costs for the trip！
Within days money was no longer an issue. We still had security concerns about some of the places where we were going， but we put our trust in God.
SAVING GRACE
