Lydia and Morgan

When we take Hopey and Charlie out in public, we always get a reaction.  The reaction is either very positive or very negative....never anywhere near the middle.  After spending some time with Morgan, we realized she experiences the same.  Her arm, which she affectionately calls "Lucy" when it is behaving and "Lucille" when it is not, violently thrashes around at will....sometimes grabbing her hair and pulling it out while at other times grabbing the hair of the person standing nearby.  Every waking moment, Morgan is forced to be acutely aware of making every attempt to control a limb that is bent on being out of control.  And "Lucy" is strong, which makes the task one that wears Morgan out.  She sits back on her arm, hooks her arm onto her clothing, and/or wrestles her arm down with her other hand....all day long, every single day.  But during our time with Morgan, we were able to get a brief glimpse of the spiritual power "Lucy" has brought into Morgan's life.  While some people avoided Morgan like the plague, others were beautifully drawn to Morgan because of her disability; and it was probably because Morgan handled herself in such a magnificent way.  Instead of trying to shy away from crowds of people, Morgan is extremely outgoing.  We watched in awe as she introduced herself to strangers while holding "Lucy" back and explaining to people through very labored speech (also a result of her brain injury) about the reason "why" her arm acts up.  Human nature is to be in a hurry and to wait for nothing, but "Lucy" brought out a different side of people, what I would consider to be the best side of people, who became willing to stop their hustle bustle to wait for Morgan to tell them her story....and most even left Morgan with a tight hug (and a tear or two) before moving on.   We listened as Morgan laughed about her disability as she instructed men to "turn their heads" if "Lucy" suddenly decided to strip her of her clothing while her arm was hooked onto the shoulder of a blouse....or while she shrugged her shoulders with an apology when "Lucy" pinched someone on the arm (or worse, their fanny).  When Morgan freely laughed about her arm, others felt freedom to laugh too.  Morgan's bright smile told strangers all they needed to know about her....she is just like everyone else aside from that aggravating arm and a bit of labored speech.  And I would argue that point to be a primary message of the gospel.  The Lord says "Come as you are"....we don't have to be perfect.  Through "Lucy", Morgan Moeller is breaking down walls....the same walls that were in my life prior to Hopey and Charlie's arrival.  I am thankful we serve a creative God who knows we need the weak in order to lead those who believe themselves to be so strong:  "....God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty."

Hopey's Heart Appointment Update!