A TALE OF TWO DISABILITIES-(Nick Vujicic/Tony Melendez)

"He could easily have played the victim in his life.
Instead he chose to overcome his disabilities and be an inspiration to others

because of his perseverance to live a normal life.
By doing so, he seems to be living a blessed life in many ways.
I know I felt blessed that I was able to see this man perform live.
It was indeed an uplifting experience."

These words were written by someone whose name I do not recall, but who spoke for all of us who had experienced those wonderful feelings that overwhelmed us after listening to a recital from great inspirational singer, Tony Melendez. The recital was performed in Los Angeles, California in September, 1987 in honor of the late Pope John Paul II and so moved the Pontiff that he rose from his chair and walked across to embrace him. This feat was even more impressive when one considered that Melendez was born without arms and played the guitar with his feet.
José Antonio Meléndez Rodríguez was born in Nicaragua in 1962. He was a thalidomide baby, born without arms, whose early life was one of intense loneliness subjected to the ridiculing and bullying by his peers in school, who did not hesitate to remind him,“No tiene brazos”. Being profoundly disabled caused him to feel intensely depressed and he would often express these feelings in such statements as, “Dolía el corazon" and "Me dolía mucho”. His only escape was the guitar which he taught himself to play, becoming quite proficient, using his feet and toes.

His life changed positively when he saw the video of an Australian motivational speaker, Nick Vujicic, almost 20 years younger. It became a source of great inspiration to him and an answer for how he will spend the rest of his life and career, in the service of his fellow man.

Nicholas James Vujicic was born in 1982 in Melbourne, Australia, the son of Croatian immigrants, with a rare condition, Tetramelia Disorder, characterized by almost complete absence of his upper and lower limbs. After an early life filled with difficulty, including serious suicidal consideration when he was about 8 years old, He was allowed to enter mainstream school and with the help and encorougement from his teachers, the use of gadgets and special devices to accommodate his disability, he not only completed school and began a very successful career as a motivational Christian speaker. His motto is simple and to the point:

“Life without limbs,
No arms, No legs, No Worries”

With neither arms nor legs, his life is still much like that of any normal person. He cooks his food, does computer work, answers his phone, listens to music, plays golf, and even goes into the swimming pool. He has visited at least 26 countries to deliver his message on behalf of his ministry, LIFE WITHOUT LIMBS.

He credits this change to a newspaper article he read when he was about 13 years old, about a disabled man who had managed to achieve great things and help many people. After reading it, he became so motivated that he resolved to dedicate his life to this ministry and believes that God has given him the strength to overcome what others might call physically insurmountable, and has placed in him a passion to share the hopes and genuine love he feels for everyone.

Isn’t strange, that these two men with almost identical disabilities, although born 6000 miles apart, and from different circumstances and cultures, should eventually find a common way of overcoming their handicap and a genuine reason for living and helping others. Even more so, they arose from the depth of their dispair and hopelessness as a result of a message and example from others in similar circumstances. They both credit their “conversion” to the service to God to the strong feeling that they both encountered that God was using them and their testimony to the touch “thousands of hearts around the world”.

But we should not be surprised that God does indeed act in mysterious ways for the good of his people. Throughout our lives we all encounter, or hear of instances in which people have behaved in extraordinary ways to the benefit of others. As Vujicic correctly noted on his website:
“Be encouraged today as you read this promise from the Lord found in

Jeremiah 29:11 of the Bible, “For I know the plans I have for you,

declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.”

< >


Disability is a matter of perception.
If you can do just one thing well,
You're needed by someone.
…….Martina Navratilova

The only disability in life is a bad attitude.
……Scott Hamilton

It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability.
One has to get on with life and I haven't done badly.
People won't have time for you
if you are always angry or complaining.
…… Stephen Hawking

Disability is not a brave struggle or courage in the face of adversity.
Disability is an art. It’s an ingenious way to live.
……Neil Marcus

I discovered early that the hardest thing to overcome
is not a physical disability,
but the mental condition which it induces.
…..Alexander de Seversky