You are Powerful. You are Beautiful. You are a Warrior!

Yesterday we stopped for dinner on the mad dash to get to our weekly Civil Air Patrol meeting. Of course the service at the restaurant was unusually slow. How could we possibly expect anything else? We were in a rush. 

However, the extra time it granted us gave me the opportunity to "people watch". As I was scanning the room trying to occupy my time an elderly woman caught my eye. I watched as she boxed up her leftovers, immediately noticing her hands as they came in to view. "She must have Rheumatoid Arthritis..", I thought to myself. Surprisingly, I didn't feel pity or sorrow for her even though I know the struggle. I felt love for her and I was awed by how beautiful her painfully twisted hands were. I was awed with the confidence that shined from her. She still wore beautiful jewelry. She still had a lovely manicure. She still carried herself with grace and a smile for those around her. It made me take pause. Why do I feel this way about her hands yet I am disgusted by my own? I don't look at my hands and think they are beautiful or powerful. I often try to hide them from view or just not look at them. I no longer get manicures. I no longer attempt pretty jewelry. I do everything I can to keep them from view. For what? I've earned these hands after 33 years of pain. I should be proud of what I can still do after all of these years. Not ashamed. 

Seeing that stranger was a much needed, gentle reminder to not be so hard on myself. My pain may be a glimmer of hope for another who is fighting the same battle.

My hands are nothing to be ashamed of and if you suffer with the same complications from this disease know that your hands are nothing to be ashamed of either. We have fought an unending battle with our own bodies. We are warriors.

We ARE powerful. We ARE beautiful. Our hands are the beauty, the strength, the grace & the hope another RA warrior needs to see.