‘How do you get through your day?’
Tom Rinaldi asks this question as he reports for ESPN on the life of Richie Parker, a chassis and body component designer for Hendrick Motorsports. Richie wakes up, gets ready and drives himself to work for the most winning organization in NASCAR, only Richie doesn’t have any arms.
This is an inspiring story of a man who refuses to accept that he is less than or unable simply because he was born without two less arms than everyone else. Similar to the saying ‘things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out,’ this story of Richie Parker resonates with many of the men, women and children that walk through the gates of the Orange County Rescue Mission. There is no room for victim mentality and manipulation here. Once clients are able to be counseled through brokenness or past hurts, we encourage all to take responsibility for their life stories and seek redemption through hard work. Our program does not work with governmental assistance, so as men and women enter the Orange County Rescue Mission, we ask that they discontinue government aid to stand on their own two feet.
If a guy like Richie Parker can ride bikes and drive himself to work in a competitive environment, then the rest of us born with two arms can dust ourselves off and figure out a way to defy the odds in our own lives and seek success for ourselves and our families.
If you are inspired by this story, watch several other stories of those who have overcome at the Orange County Rescue Mission HERE.