The Traveler's Gift

Monday Will and I had a very enjoyable day. Lisa, his speech therapist, brought an article from the Salt Lake Tribune which referred to a project they are considering building on the University of Utah campus–a project which mirrors one that has already been built on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. As Will read the article aloud, it brought the two worlds of Utah and Ohio together. Will had been in the Ohio State project and knew that both campuses would benefit from having commercial spaces where students and teachers could mingle together. Bringing communities of students, and teachers together as friends in an enriching and welcoming environment is definitely a worthy goal.
After Lisa left, Will and I started reading a book which Will's Aunt Mary Anne had purchased called The Traveler’s Gift. It's by Andy Andrews, a comedian, author, inspirational speaker, and serious fisherman. As we started out, it became apparent to both of us that this book was very pertinent to Will’s situation. The main character, David Ponder, had not suffered a stroke, but he had gone from being a successful executive to a desperate man within a few short months. As he faced his devastating losses, grief and overwhelming despair engulfed him. At the very moment when he was about to surrender himself to these seemingly insurmountable obstacles, he was granted an olive branch. He was permitted to go on a journey backward in time. There he met people from history who too had faced moments of extreme crisis. Each of them spoke to him, listened to him, and acknowledged awareness of his need for help. In the end, they each offered him a letter defining a key decision which had enabled them to turn their potential tragedies into triumphs.
As Will and I got into the book both of us started crying. It seemed that the author had been inspired to write it for us. I would like to share the seven keys because I think you will see their relevance. 1- The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future. (We acknowledged that Will was not responsible for his stroke, but he does have the power to control the future. The past does not need to exert undo influence over the present or the future.) 2- I will seek wisdom. I will be a servant to others. (Who seeks wisdom more keenly or desires more earnestly to serve others than a physician?) 3- I am a person of action. I seize the moment. I choose now. (Anyone who was in the singles ward while Will was Elder’s Quorum President knows how hard he worked to meet the needs of the quorum and ward members.) 4- I have a decided heart. My destiny is assured. ( Now that he has had the PFO closure, his heart is decidedly less apt to interfere with the unfolding of his destiny.) 5- Today I will choose to be happy. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit. ( Everyone who has seen Will since his stroke knows how cheerfully he has faced this trial. His smile and sense of humor have lifted all of us.) 6- I will greet the day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself. (This was the key offered by Abraham Lincoln who asked that the nation go forward after the Civil War "having malice toward none and charity for all." Will has felt the power of forgiveness in his own life, and is moving forward in that same charitable and forgiving spirit.) 7- I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith. (Will is eager to go forward, resume his residency and reclaim all that was lost. His faith in the blessings that have been given him, that he will suffer no permanent losses and that his recovery will not plateau, is unwavering. That seed of faith, planted in his heart, has been nurtured by hope, and bolstered by his steadfast faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.) In the book, the key of faith was given by the Angel Gabriel.
Will and I started out reading the book together, but ended up reading it separately, neither of us being able to put it down until the last page had been turned. We recommend it highly to anyone wanting a positive affirmation of the power of the human spirit to rise above adversity.