When we encounter the unexpected, it’s important to remember God’s plan.
Photo by Filipe Dos Santos Mendes
When Cambry Kaylor was eighteen, she had the world ahead of her. As an equestrian vaulter, she performed gymnastics on horseback—and she was good at it. So good that she was on track to become an international competitor.
One day while she was practicing her dismounts, her life dramatically changed: she fell, breaking her spine and becoming paralyzed from the waist down. In the video “Living Beyond ‘What If?’” Kaylor shares her experience recovering—both physically and spiritually—after her accident.
Kaylor details her struggles following her accident. At one point she thought to herself, “Just last week I was balancing a handstand on the back of a moving horse. And here I am, I can’t even sit up on my own. Who am I? I’m not Cambry Kaylor. I’m a crippled version of what I used to be.”
But she was determined not to let the accident dictate the rest of her life. She found that she could be happy in her new reality. She also literally got back on a horse and discovered she still had her equestrian touch. All this taught her that she could do hard things. She says,“Just because I’m in a wheelchair doesn’t mean that I can’t do hard things. It just means I do hard things differently, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Drawing from Kaylor’s example, how can we cope with the adversities we face? Kaylor offers a few tips, including that we should find humor in the challenges and remember that we can do hard things. But most importantly, she advises that we “remember where [we’ve] been, remember how far [we’ve] come, and remember God has a plan. And it is full of hope.” Now, twelve years after her accident, Kaylor still has the world ahead of her.
To hear Cambry Kaylor’s whole story, watch “Living beyond ‘What If?,’” which is part of the Mormon Channel series Hope Works.
Source: Mormon Channel
—Bethany Patterson, Mormon Insights
feature image by fabian-burghardt
Find more insights
Read Sister Sheri L. Dew’s article “This Is a Test. It Is Only a Test” for advice on how to overcome trials.
Read “Faith in God’s Plan for Me,” by Jessica George, to learn more about accepting your purpose.