By Tanya Merced
Imagine living daily with a disability that stops you from achieving all that you can, because society has placed limits. Now imagine if you can when little David told king Saul that he would slaughter the 9 ft Palestine giant before their eyes. David was mocked, ridiculed, and taunted for what he believed. How many of you are facing giants and feel defeated? On Sunday April 25, 2010, Andrew W. Merced delivered a powerful message to WOWgroup Global Fellowship ~ NY, NY, titled "Facing Your Giants".
Andrew W. Merced is a child who was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome at the age of 3 and later on was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. For those of you who are not familiar with both disorders I recommend that you visit my website A Touch of Peace: http://tanyamerced.com/;there you will find information about both disorders. Many of you may think that the giants Andrew W. Merced faces each day is living with his disorders, but the truth is it is not. The giant that Andrew W. Merced faces and will probably face for the rest of his life is the fact that the "average"or " normal person" will never understand the extra mile it takes to be accepted just the way you are.
The message " Facing Your Giants," was absolutely wonderful. We learned that Andrew understood metaphors and that he was able to give examples of fears. In addition, Andrew W. Merced's message showed us what we needed to do in order to overcome our giants on a daily basis. If you are wondering if Andrew W. Merced needed to be instructed or prompted to do the message the answer is both yes and no. Sure we had to prompt Andrew and remind him to stay focus during his message, because he would get distracted and talk about things he hated. It was like he focused on himself and the problem. What a lesson? How many times do we get blindsided and lose focus? Nevertheless, God spoke through this young willing vessel in spite of all his distractions and limitations.
Highlights from Andrew's Message
1. When we are fearful and don't know what to do we must pray.
2. After we pray we must have a plan and deliver that message to someone. He used the movie "Facing the Giants" as his inspiration. Andrew noted that Coach Taylor was at a crossroad and his team was losing, because he had lost his vision.
3. Andrew told us it's okay to be afraid, but to remember that God is for us and that all things are possible.
If you would like to see Andrew's message click here: Facing Your Giants
