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MANILA, Philippines – Nick Vujicic was born without legs and arms, but that’s not stopping him from doing so many awesome things. From “a life without limbs,” he’s truly living “a life without limits.”
He’s best known as a speaker, author, and evangelist – often speaking from the perspective of his Christian faith.
“If God can use a man without arms and legs to be His hands and feet, then He will certainly use any willing heart!” he said, as quoted on his website.
Nick was born in 1982 in Melbourne, Australia, and moved to southern California, United States, in 2007. He founded Life Without Limbs, a non-profit ministry, in 2005, as well as Attitude is Altitude, a community of motivational speakers, in 2007.
He wrote some things about himself on the frequently asked questions section of the Life Without Limbs website, and these are some highlights from his exciting “life without limits.”
1. Nick lives an active lifestyle and is very game to do extreme sports
Nick’s condition is called phocomelia; thus, he lacks limbs. He has a small underdeveloped left foot though, and this allows him to type, write, and more. However, he doesn’t end with these tasks.
He counts fishing and golf among his hobbies. He has also gone swimming, played football, and gone skateboarding, surfing, and skydiving!
One more thing: he says that he can open a can of Coke with just his teeth.
2. He’s quite the funny man and prankster, too.
In his speaking engagements, Nick would often drop some jokes – without missing a beat.
Once, he posed as the captain of an American Airlines flight, but after he finally told passengers that he wasn’t really the pilot, he shared with them a few encouraging words.
3. Nick is happily married and has 2 wonderful kids.
Nick met his wife, Kanae Miyahara Vujicic, in Texas, 2008. It was at a small private party, and it was a moment that they described as “electric” and “magical.”
They now have 2 kids: Kiyoshi (born in 2013) and Dejan (born in 2015).
4. He went through a period of depression, but he overcame that.
Growing up, Nick played toys and sports with family and friends, but nonetheless, he was different. When he was a student, he was bullied. He was in a dark place.
“I went through a depression and even suicide thoughts from ages 8-12,” he said.
He shared details about this in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network: “I wanted to end it. If God wasn’t going to end my pain, I was going to end it myself. So at age 8, I tried to drown myself in a bathtub with 4 inches of water. I told my mom and dad, ‘I’m just going to relax in the bathtub. Can you put me in the bathtub?'”
“I turned over a couple of times to see if I could do it. I couldn’t. The thought that stopped me from going through with it was the love for my parents. I loved them so much, and all they did was love me. I pictured my funeral. I pictured my parents, and all I saw was guilt on their shoulders that they couldn’t have done more.”
“The thoughts during that time were: I didn’t want to be ridiculed, and or feel like an outcast or be a liability/burden to someone,” Nick shared on the Life Without Limbs website. “Also, the simple pleasures of normal life seemed difficult, I didn’t see myself having a bright future at that time.”
But he knew he had loving parents and a couple of supportive friends. “My parents often reminded me that I was a creation of God, wonderfully and fearfully made,” he said, quoting Psalm 139.
How did he respond to the teasing? He would “just smile back at people, start talking and playing as much as I can with them so they would know I’m just like them.”
“It started to make a difference,” he said.
5. At the age of 15, he experienced a turning point when he ‘surrendered [his] life to Jesus.’
“I surrendered my life to Jesus after reading John 9,” he said, referring to the Gospel story where Jesus healed a man born blind.
“I knew I had to make my life right with Him but I blamed Him for my pain. I read how Jesus said that the blind man was born that way so that the works of God would be revealed through him.”
“I said to God that if He had a plan for that man I certainly believed that He had one for me. I totally let go of the ‘needing to know the plan’ and began to trust Him one day at a time,” he said.
6. He had his first speaking engagement at 19 years old.
He shared his testimony at a public high school, and recounted the experience: “I was quite nervous and prayed to God desperately that if He wanted to bless this in my lifetime, He’d have to show up and give me the words to speak.”
7. If he had limbs, Nick said that he would have accomplished different things and made different career choices.
“I have seen God answer my prayer for hope, purpose, and significance in such a unique way that it would not be same if I did have arms and legs,” said Nick.
“I am pretty sure I would have made different choices… I would have become an accountant or something.”
8. He once gave $20,000 of his life savings to the poor in Africa at age 20.
“I grew up seeing many in poverty, dying of starvation, and it angered me. I wanted to do my part,” Nick explained.
“I used to pray that God would generally help those who are in desperate need but when I had the revelation I could be His hands and feet and do my part, that’s when I made the decision to go.
“It humbled me deeply to see such poverty first hand. It also ignited a fire within me to be an example and also to inspire others to do their part to make a difference.”
Nick also recounted this moment in his book, Life Without Limits.
9. He considers himself as a ‘man of faith’ instead of a ‘motivational speaker’ or ‘positive thinking promoter.’
“I’m not a superhero or a guy with a really positive attitude about everything,” Nick said. “I still have struggles and I still face obstacles in my circumstances. The difference I think is that I am a man of faith and without that key factor, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”
He later added, “God promises forgiveness of sins through His Son Jesus Christ. He promises His Holy Spirit for comfort, wisdom, faith, renewal. He promises that He’ll never leave us alone.”
“I have a pair of shoes in my closet just in case He decides to give me limbs, yet I have peace knowing that He may choose to heal me not here on earth, but in heaven.”
10. Why does Nick do what he does – i.e. talk in front of people?
This is his answer: “Every time I get up in front of an audience, I know at least one person will be changed forever. That’s why.”
He was even asked why he allows people to hug him, and he recounted how one crying girl had approached him: “She came forward in front of everyone and gave me a hug, and thanked me because she said that no one has ever told her that she was loved or beautiful the way she was.”
Nick said that there’s a particular message he would want to convey to people: “In such a world and generation where so much information, entertainment and stealth vicious pressure in being someone you’re not, or having something you don’t have yet, the message is to preach the truth. To know our true worth, and knowing that we are all loved, and we are here for a greater purpose.”
Nick is set to return to Manila for an event called “Limitless Possibilities” on July 29 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. See details here:
– Rappler.com
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