Don Jessop, a 27-year-old husband and father, was living his dream as a cowboy when a tragic accident left him paralyzed from the chest down. Suddenly, life changed for his young family. They moved to a new home better suited to his needs, where Don learned to navigate each room in a wheelchair. In doing so, he unintentionally left marks—scrapes and gouges along doors and doorframes. Over time, these marks accumulated and could be seen by all who entered.
Years later, after Don had passed, his children refurbished the home, adding new paint and new carpet, with great care given to its restoration. But one thing was not restored: the marks left by their father’s wheelchair.
To the family, these marks were sacred—evidence of a difficult life well lived—one that was characterized by growth, resilience, and love. We each carry marks from the difficult times of our own lives, but these challenges and their marks need not define us. Rather, they can inspire us and those around us to keep moving forward. May we embrace and even give thanks for the evidence of hard challenges in our lives. The scratches and gouges testify of experience, of effort, of progress, and of faith in the future.