“To whom much is given, much will be required." ~ Luke 12:48
Albertsons Stadium was abuzz with
excitement as the Broncos and Cavaliers faced off on the blue turf. Thousands crowded the stands. As she had done many times, Heather carried
him up to their seats leaving his wheelchair at the base of the stands.
Nathan Ogden craved the normality of college football games
with its crowded seating, boisterous fans, and raucous bands. But when they came back to retrieve his special
motorized chair, it had vanished without a trace. Bad things happen!
It wasn’t about the cost ($4,500) and having to wait for a
new one. For a quadriplegic, it meant
independence. It allowed Nathan to move,
to tuck his kids into bed, to provide for his family.
Very bad things happened on a snow-capped mountain 16 years
earlier. Nathan, an accomplished skier,
launched himself off an enormous jump and landed wrong. Terribly wrong! The resulting injury caused paralysis from his
chest down.
With two young children, a wonderful wife, and a successful
career, he battled through setbacks and obstacles with intense therapy. Nathan returned to work full time, was able to
drive again, and embraced his new life from a seated position with the motto of
“We Believe.” He was getting stronger
and knew he’d walk again.
That was until several unfortunate events led to him
breaking his neck a 2nd, much more serious time, leaving him
paralyzed forever. He lost his job,
self-esteem, and almost his marriage. “Being physically disabled is difficult;
but fear, doubt and lack of progress left me completely paralyzed.”
Excuses be damned, Nathan eventually found new “legs” to
live life standing taller; moving from paralysis to progress.
He and Heather co-founded a non-profit called Chair the Hope https://chairthehope.org/ providing wheelchairs for those desperately needing them in developing countries. In a twist of fate, the summer before the football game, Nathan’s entire family rode their bicycles over 1,200 miles from Oregon to Los Angeles, raising $43,000 for their charity.
They never found his wheelchair or the thief who stole it. So, when the search came up empty, Ogden’s
supporters turned to GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/nathansnewchair
Donations quickly easily surpassed the cost of replacing Nathan’s
chair – massively exceeded. With the
extras, CtH distributed thousands of new wheelchairs and still counting.
The author of two bestsellers (Unfrozen and Resilience),
Nathan has become an international motivational speaker using his life-changing
experiences to train students, adults, and business executives around the
world.
“It’s easy to assume that only rich people have been “given
much,” (Luke 12:48) he offered. “But honestly,
we’ve all been given much: God’s abundant grace, His Word, and the gifts
of the Holy Spirit.” Each of us should
use whatever gift we’ve received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s
blessings in their various (sometimes tragic) forms.
Lord God, let me never forget all that You
do for me on a daily basis. Sustain me
with the hope of my salvation and the other countless blessings You provide
with your continuous presence in my life. Amen
