CHALLENGED

Some say I am disabled,
     But you know that isn't true.
I simply have a challenge
     A little different from you.

My slight inconvenience, has taught me
     Things they could not know.
Each obstacle is a victory,
     Enabling me to grow.

I'm not really any different, 
     I cry, I laugh, I snore.
I don't want to be treated
     As if I'm not a person anymore.

Out of good intentions,
     People are afraid to let me try.
But sometimes I have to fall,
     And sometimes I need to cry.

God gives me strength and dignity,
     And the courage to be all I can be.
For He doesn't see me as disabled,
     He just sees me as me.

--by Leslie W. Ortega
  a person with MS