My life was defined by hospital visits and Epilepsy. I was diagnosed with Epilepsy at two years old. Growing up with this diagnosis caused me to become broken and hurt with no acceptance from kids who I grew up with. As I got older, things got worse. Seizures came more often and so did the bullying. I was so angry at God. I was jealous of normal people and listened to the world as they told me, “You are a mistake.”
Then, one night, I finally broke. It was the last day of summer and my mind was wandering, lost in the storm of bad thoughts. I was in my bedroom thinking about the multiple seizures I had the day before, thinking about what it was going to be like going to school the next day. They were going to bully me. They were going to call me names. Finally, my head became so full of these terrible thoughts that I screamed out, “Lord, why did you do this to me?? Why did you give me epilepsy?” Then, I got a warm sensation and heard these words like a fire in my soul, “Lyndsey, I made you perfectly so that you could tell your story. I made you a saved miracle. So forgive the past hurt and forgive yourself.”
The next day at school, there was no bullying. In fact, a Christian girl invited me to her youth group that day. Since then, I see what God meant. Every day I see beauty in the world and in myself. I see the way He sees me: a storyteller and a story seeker. Now, with God’s help, I was accepted into Taylor University to study art therapy so that I can help thousands of special needs youth in and out of work.
