When Disability Shapes Personality – Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Have you ever wondered how a disability impacts someone’s personality? Or perhaps, how your personality dictates the way you view disability?

LeeAnn and I recently participated in a series of surveys sponsored by our church. The surveys are designed to help identify personality type, leadership style, and spiritual gifts.

As I was looking over my own results, I couldn’t help but wonder what impact my personality has had on how I manage my disability. Then my thoughts took a 180 degree turn to ponder how my disability has impacted my personality.

It’s hard to say which has influenced the other more, but there is no doubt that personality and disability are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I would argue that you don’t need to have a disability in order for one to impact your personality.

I know of people in my life that have gone through incredible challenges. Their experiences have altered my perspective and inspired me to make changes in the way that I live.

The Bible confirms this phenomenon. In Romans 5, Paul wrote that we should rejoice in our trials because they teach us how to persevere, which develops our character and gives us hope.

To most people it will seem counter intuitive to think that a disability, whether temporary or permanent, is something to celebrate.Truthfully, there are many days that I wrestle with the concept as well. Reflecting back on some of my hardest days, I can see the difference in who I am today as a result of not giving up.

I certainly didn’t do it on my own, though. I had to learn to let go of things that were outside of my control. It was hard to trust that God would take care of those things, but it set me free to focus on the things that I could control.

That freedom is what enables me to do things I never would have thought possible. There is no doubt in my mind that my personality has been refined and improved as a result of trials and tribulation.

What about you? Have you weathered a difficult time in your life that has forever changed the person you are today? You can submit your story here and we might feature it in a future post to encourage our readers.