I was so inspired by a contestant on the X Factor last week and just had to write about it. If you didn’t catch the last episode, boy did you miss out on the most inspiring audition I have ever seen.
Freddie Combs is a 540–pound, wheelchair - bound minister who received a standing ovation and brought tears to the eyes of America as they watched his audition. He was wheeled onstage by his wife and best friend of 16 years and dedicated his performance of “Wind Beneath My Wings” to her. The judges and audience seemed to be shocked by his appearance, but everything changed when he shared his inspiring story.
In 2009 after spending seven months in his room, He developed a very severe case of carbon dioxide poisoning and it was slowly killing him. The doctors did not expect him to live, but not only did he live, but he went on to lose almost four hundred pounds from his original weight of 920 pounds.
Despite his outward appearance Freddie is an amazing example of someone who shows such courage and doesn’t let the fact that he is a 540-pound man stand in the way of his God given gift that is meant to be shared with the world.
"X Factor" judge L.A. Reid started the commentary stating, "My comments for you will not be out of sympathy because of anything that you have dealt with. It's going to be purely based on your voice which I think is heavenly."
Simon said "Ah, Freddie you know what? When I heard you sing I had a vision in my mind of you standing singing that song, healthy, happy and maybe you need some inspiration to help you to that next stage because it's within you to sort this out. Do you understand that? I don't think that you deserve to be stuck in that chair, I really don't. But it has to come from you. I kind of feel if we're gonna go forward that we have to make a sort of a deal with each other, that we're gonna both work hard to sort this out, yeah? Because I'll back you if you back yourself. In which case Freddie I wanna kick this off and I want to give you a yes."
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart. Helen Keller
L.A. Reid added to that by saying "I liked the deal that Simon made with you when he challenged you to stand...and if you stand I'm gonna stand right by you. It's four yeses."
Freddie’s story is such an inspiring story and I love the fact that he did not let his condition stand in the way of sharing his gift with the world. He did not let fear stand in the way and stop him from showing himself to the world even though he weighs 540 pounds and is wheelchair-bound. I’ve seen stories over the years of several obese people who locked themselves inside their houses for years at a time because it was to difficult to not only leave the house, but also because of the shame they felt about the way they looked.
Fear stops some of us from so many things in our lives and I think the feeling of being fearful is almost worse then if you just faced the fear and did it anyway. We can choose to let fear stop us from living the life we are meant to live and never face it, or if we choose to be brave and courageous and take that step forward, we might discover something amazing.
I believe we all have gifts and talents and it’s our job to discover them and share them with the world. God gives these to each of us and I think that if we hide away from the world and never use the gifts he gave us, we will never live the amazing life that he wants us to live.
What fears do you have that are holding you back from living the life you are meant to live? Have you discovered the gifts and talents that God has given you? What would your life be like if you faced your fears? What would you life look like today if you took a chance and faced any fears that are stopping from living the life you are meant to live? Maybe you can take a little baby step today and start the journey.
Let Freddie be an example that anything is possible if you believe. I believe that Freddie will stand from his wheelchair and sing for the world to see and I cannot wait to see it happen!
You can read more about Freddie and his story by visiting his site Freddie And Kay Combs
Always Remember that you are Beautiful, Strong, Powerful, Fearless, Amazing, Divine, and most important of all YOU ARE ENOUGH! Divine Diva Donna
2 comments:
I enjoyed watching Freddie Combs, who I think can become successful with an amazing voice. I can’t wait to watch his next performance and see what happens next. I’ve enjoyed the past few episodes without the hassle of commercials. The Auto Hop feature from DISH, allows me to automatically skip commercials. I was excited when a couple of my coworkers at DISH showed me how it works. It’s like when you use the fast forward button on the remote, but without hitting buttons. The commercials will always be there if you want to watch them. I'm definitely happy now that I won’t be fast forwarding past my commercials only to have to skip back to the start of my next scene. This will also prevent me from wearing down the batteries in my remote as quick.
I am excited to see him perform again as well. I believe he will stand and I cannot wait to see him do so.
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