Accessible Success: A Book for the Rest of Us

By Jr. Larry Leon Thacker

How do you define success?

Who comes to your mind when you think of a successful person? What would you need to achieve before you would consider yourself successful?

Has that changed as you have matured? Have you decided that you will have to settle for less? What if success is not what you think it is?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Mar 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887382647

Jr. Larry Leon Thacker

Larry is the pastor of Bartimaeus Baptist Temple in Dallas, Texas, where the mission is to equip people with disabilities to find and fulfill God's purpose for their lives. Though born blind, he works as a computer programmer with a multicultural team for major financial clients worldwide. He lives in Richardson, Texas, with his wife, Linda, with whom he shares a house full of gadgets.

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ACCESSIBLE

SUCCESS

A BOOK FOR THE REST OF US

BY LARRY LEON THACKER, JR.

Accessible Success

Trilogy Christian Publishers A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2023 by Larry Leon Thacker, Jr.

Scripture quotations marked LEB are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Cover design by: Sierra Deyoe (Trilogy Christian Publishing)

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 979-8-88738-263-0

E-ISBN: 979-8-88738-264-7

Dedication

This book is dedicated to:

My parents, Larry and Beth Thacker, without whom I literally would not be here and who provided for me the firm foundation that made this work possible.

To Ken Janke, who helped shape my understanding of community within the church.

To the late Reverend David Whitmore, who set an example for me with his love for the people and facilitated my entry into pastoral ministry.

To my beloved wife, Linda, who urges me forward and won’t let me get too comfortable.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all who encouraged me as I shared excerpts from this book as it was being written. Your kind words inspired me to keep writing. Special thanks to my sister, Lorie Garcia, who served as my pre-editor to keep my manuscript from going directly to the trash once I began to seek a publisher.

Introduction

How do you define success? Who comes to your mind when you think of a successful person? What would you need to achieve before you would consider yourself successful? Has that changed as you have gotten older? Have you decided that you will have to settle for less? What if success is not what you think it is?

I am legally blind. Accessibility is a major concern among people with disabilities. Often, the design of places or things makes it difficult or impossible for us to use them. Thus, they are inaccessible. A building may have steps that bar entry to a person using a wheelchair, or restrooms have insufficient accommodations for the chair, like space to maneuver and handholds that would allow a person to transfer to a toilet. Doctors may provide printed forms to be filled out that can’t be managed on the spot by a patient who can’t see. We often encounter websites that are not designed for a person using screen reading technology on a phone or computer. Simply getting across town can be a problem. The world isn’t designed for those of us with disabilities.

That doesn’t mean we give up. Inaccessibility should not prevent us from living full and productive lives. Some things will be harder, but we can choose to keep trying. You may not be facing disability, but every one of us will face challenges in life. You are not alone. You can choose to listen to those who will say there is nothing you can do, but please don’t.

This is not your typical motivational book. I’m not going to tell you that you can have anything you want. You can’t. I’m not going to tell you that you can do anything you want to do. You can’t. The only one nothing is impossible for is God. But I’m also not going to tell you that you have to settle for what you can get. You do not!

It is my hope that by the end of this book, you see success in a new light. To that end, I’m going to share my story. I don’t consider it to be all that remarkable, but I have learned a few things along the way. I was born blind, but I think I can help you see. Once you understand what success really is, you will find it accessible, no matter what your circumstances may be.

Part One:

This Isn’t What I Expected

Chapter One

The Plans of a Man

"The mind of a person will plan his ways, and Yahweh will direct his steps" (Proverbs 16:9, LEB).

We all have expectations. They are shaped by the people who influence us and by the experiences we have, and they grow and change over time. They arise from our assessment of circumstances and from the plans that we make. We can be disappointed when they are not met, or we may be relieved.

The life I live now is certainly different than the one I imagined. As a boy, I pictured a wife and three kids. I dreamed of a modest house in the country with dogs and horses. I didn’t really think about what it would take to get there. I figured I would have a job but didn’t give much thought to what sort of job it should be. I eventually ended up with a good wife, but there are no children. I have a house, but it sure isn’t in the country. As for dogs and horses, I have decided that my time is better spent with people than with dogs—and I’m allergic to horses.

I went to college the first time, planning to major in computer science, but the math required by the engineering school scared me, and I decided I’d rather help people than work on computers anyway, so I changed to psychology. That didn’t work out either, for reasons that will become apparent as you read this book. When I finally made it back to school, it was computers again, and I graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in management information systems.

I still wanted to help people. My grand plan was to live simply, invest the extra, and eventually transition to a teaching