Madison Sanders Writes

Curtain in front of lighted window © domiwo  via freeimages.com You put one foot in front of the other. You dutifully do your work behind closed doors. Pressing on, day after day. No one sees behind the scenes. No ones knows what's behind the smile. You wonder if it's even worth it, should you try at all? Your mind has drifted, feet are well past the tired stage. The ache seems to seep from your pores Can anyone see? Does anyone care? Anyone? Anywhere? All at once behind the scenes, someone peels back the curtain Daring to get a glimpse inside Longing to know the person  Let them know they see Without so much as a word, only a smile The room brightens The weight lifted Finally! Someone saw behind the scenes Someone saw the real me I am finally free Free from thoughts Free from fear No more facade, I choose to be real Because in front of me is someone willing to bear the burden with me I slip my ar

My mom has already written about our trip to the mountains on her blog, but I wanted to add my perspective of going up to Mount Mitchell. Going up the paved road wasn't all that hard - for me. My mom pushed and we took breaks as the path got steeper. A kind lady offered to help us a little further up, and we accepted. We made it to the top and took in the beautiful scenery. I wheeled around to look at the various signs that told which mountains were on which sides. Then, it was time to go. Mama said, "Okay, don't panic." Looking down at the path, I did panic at first. My arms were getting sore from being so tense from having them at my side and pressing into my wheelchair cushion. Mama said, "You are going to have to chill out." She was right. I had to stay calm.  She was pushing, and I tried to do just that. I was wearing sunglasses, so I couldn't see the path that well. I blocked out almost everyone coming up. A few people stopp

Some of you may not know, but I write once a month for The Celebration blog. It is an extension of my church's website. My latest article is up on the blog today.  Here's a snippet: "Thursday night, something happened. I prayed for someone and was sincere about it. Did you know that it is possible to pray for someone or something and not actually mean it? We’ve all done it if we are being honest." Be sure to check out " Matters of the Heart ."

Today after a doctor's appointment with Dr. Brosky, I dropped off a donation of journals and lip balms to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta(commonly known as CHOA) - Scottish Rite campus. As of right now, there were 97 journals and 100 lip balms donated! Lauren, the hospital volunteer in the picture, said, "Thank you! This is such a kind and generous gift. The little kids always get stuff, but we rarely get things for the teenagers."  She also said, "Journals are such a nice gift!" She was elated over the lip balms, too! Thank you to all who gave! We have made a difference! It all started on June 25, 2014. I was getting ready for my foot surgery, and I decided to do something good for others instead of focusing on my pain.  Here's what I posted to my personal friends on Facebook and friends of my blog's Facebook page:  "Okay, since I feel better when I am doing something, I've decided to tackle something that has b