HAPPY NEW YEAR !

A NEW LEARNING
2009 Happy New year! We all desire an entire new year of contented days. Predictably there will be challenges and impediments. If you need some encouragement, here is the inspiring story of Dick and Rick Hoyt. Team Hoyt they are called, a father and son team who has competed together in 229 triathlons, 66 marathons including 26 Boston Marathons and biked and run across 3,735 miles of America in 45 days. Remarkable, considering Rick’s inability to walk or talk. Oxygen deprivation at birth resulted in cerebral palsy.


Rick is now 45 years old and because Dick and Judy refused to institutionalize their son but determined to treat him like any other child, he was enrolled in school and equipped with an interactive communicator that converts thoughts to written and vocal speech. Rick, a quadriplegic, non-speaking person earned a college degree from Boston University in special education, and now works at Boston College.

Rick was seventeen when he decided he wanted to run. Dick was 40 years of age. Dick became Rick’s body. After their first race, Rick wrote, 'Dad when I'm running it feels like my disability disappears'. Rick’s father Dick is now 67 years old and for twenty-seven years he has pushed Rick in his wheelchair, propelled him in a seat-pod at the front of his bicycle and pulled him in a rubber boat while swimming. 'Team Hoyt is a phenomenon in the athletic world and a testament to parental perseverance and a father's incredible devotion to his son. Dick and Rick Hoyt were announced as the 2008 Triathlete Hall of Fame Inductees.

Rick and Dick continue to compete in races, and are also motivational speakers. No kidding! Team Hoyt is a corporate identity operating the Hoyt Foundation established in 1992 with high profile sponsors for the purpose of enhancing the lives and mobility of people with disabilities. It promotes the integration, inclusion and acceptance of people with all types of disabilities and their families into every aspect of society. See http://www.teamhoyt.com/


Rick and Dick have written a book entitled "It's Only a Mountain." These two men with their powerful bond believe that ‘together’ there isn’t anything that they cannot do. There is so much that personal resolve and dedication can accomplish.

Here is a kicker. Add the truth and faith component and all 2009 mountainous tests become mere hills. “I can do all things through Him who empowers me.” Philippians 4:13
Ramp up your trust in God and have an extraordinary year.