“I am living a full and balanced life knowing where all the power comes from. Not I can, but HE CAN.”

Kim Atienza grew up wanting to be on television. He took up Film and Audio Communications in college not to be a filmmaker or a director, but to be a star on television. He always aspired to become one. So when Kim received his break and gained popularity on TV, he fell madly in love with his work. He had four daily shows, an extremely hectic schedule and hardly slept. He enjoyed it thoroughly – as he was finally living his dream as a TV star — until that fateful day in 2010 when he suffered a stroke.

He promised to God that he would be healthy and fit if He made Kim well. Kim survived the stroke, and fulfilled his promise by becoming a triathlete. He ran fast, cycled fast, swam long open water distances confidently. Three years after his stroke, he signed up for his full Ironman race- a 4km swim, followed by a 180km bike and 42km run. He finished quickly in 12 hours.

The motto of an Ironman was “I CAN” and this became Kim’s mantra. “I can”, he would tell himself every day.

One training day, after a 6 hour biking session of 180km, Kim couldn’t move his hands. His fingers were paralyzed. Next, he couldn’t wiggle his toes. His feet were also paralyzed. He soon found out that he was suffering from a rare auto-immune disease contracted by 1 out of 100,000 people that caused total paralysis. Kim couldn’t understand. Yesterday, he was an Ironman.

Powerless in his state, Kim realized that the motto of Ironman “I CAN”, cannot apply. It was that painful morning in the ICU when he recognized God’s power in his own weakness, His fullness in his emptiness, His abundant grace in his self-centeredness. That morning, Kim realized that He needed to accept Jesus as His Lord and Savior, as provider of everything that he needed.

Kim’s paralysis was reversed after a few weeks. In a few months, he was able to swim, bike, and run even faster than he used to. He finished 8 international races, a full Ironman race, and 8 half Iron Man races with excellent times, all under Jesus’ grace and guidance.

Today, Kim continues to pursue his passions fervently, yet this time, with a change of perspective. “I CAN only do this through HIM who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13) Not I can, but HE CAN,” he shares.