Did you see Mark Ormrod completing a 1 km swim in Plymouth recently? This amazing man lost both his legs and one of his arms when he was a soldier in Afghanistan, but loves to get up early every day and take on challenges that most of us couldn’t do, even with our whole body working properly.

He said “Losing my limbs made me a lot more passionate for life."

I’ve been thinking a lot about how he managed to do that – how he swam all that way with just one arm, and what he needed to be able to succeed.

Three of the things he needed were:

1. He had to let his body heal first. After he was injured he needed to recover – his body needed to be mended as much as possible.

2. He had to choose what to think about his injuries and about his future – was it going to stop him or was it going to make him more determined to succeed?

3. He had good friends who helped him and encouraged him, he had to learn when to do things himself and when to ask for help.

In the bible there’s a book called Mark, with a story about a man who couldn’t walk, because he was paralysed. His friends were determined that he would meet Jesus, but they couldn’t get into the crowded house where Jesus was, so they made a hole in the roof and lowered him down. Jesus healed him and he recovered…I’d love to know what the rest of his story was!

What are you determined to do this week?