On April 15, 2013, Rebekah Gregory and her son anxiously waited by the finish line of the Boston Marathon for a friend who was running. Little did they know the chaos that would unfold that day. When the bombs went off, Rebekah’s leg took the brunt of the burden and after eighteen surgeries and sixty-five procedures, her left leg was amputated.
Now many of you might think of Rebekah as a victim, but she doesn’t want you to. In fact, she refers to herself as a survivor and has used her tragedy to empower herself to overcome all of life’s obstacles. She was one of the first people to testify against the terrorists in the case and wrote an infamous letter to the terrorists of the Boston bombings.
Rebekah’s strength is immeasurable. She later became an author of Taking My Life Back, where she details how her faith and her struggle have helped her overcome insurmountable odds to be who she is today. Rebekah even returned to the Boston Marathon years later to run a portion of it. I mean, can you even imagine?
But we feature her not only due to her impressive strength and resilience but because in our current world climate - it is important to understand exactly what she has harnessed, which is the power of focusing on what you can control and letting go of what you cannot. We all could do ourselves a big favor to embrace a little more of what Rebecca holds so dear. I hope you’ll take a moment today and do just that.