Our friend Marcus and his story(long)

Remember I mentioned that an old friend of ours passed away a week ago?  Here is a little about Marcus.  Marcus had a horrible wreck when he was a young man.  In all reality, the wreck should have killed him.  But, Marcus lived.  He was a quadriplegic and confined to a wheelchair, but his mind was sharp as a tack.  Marcus didn't know Jesus at that time.  He came to know Jesus after suffering from anger, bitterness, and depression.  Jesus set him free from that.  Come to think of it, that is what Easter is all about--not gifts, pretty dresses, bunnies, egg hunts candy, more candy, more and more candy!  Easter is about the work of the cross bringing freedom, life, victory, restoration!!!!  Happy Easter!  Anyway, back to the story.  We met Marcus when he was at a university in the town we lived in.  He began coming to our church, the one where my mother is the Women's Minister.  He and his caretaker and friend, Lindsay(who became his wife-sweet!), started coming to the small group at my parent's home.  They were so fun and enjoyable.  Marcus had to be fed.  He'd sit in his chair at the table and my dad would often feed bites into his mouth.  One time my dad took him to a men's campout.  Marcus couldn't regulate his body tempature and was always cold.  My dad parked his chair right by the campfire for Marcus to keep warm--a little too close.  They began smelling burnt shoe leather :)  Marcus got baptized at our precious country church.  It took many men, but they lifted him out of the chair, dunked him in a cow trough and out of the water he came, grinning!  Carter was about 3 when we were hanging out with Marcus and Lindsay.  He loved riding on the back of the power wheelchair.

So, as I reflect on Marcus' life, I wonder how many people passed by, staring at his broken body and deemed him worthless?  How many people made a quick judgment and didn't take the time to get to know Marcus?  What if my family had done that?  We never would have known the amazing testimony of faith, choosing to live with joy and gladness, despite very difficult circumstances?  What lesson would Carter have missed out on?  Carter is the most kindhearted and sensitive teen I've ever seen. I think Marcus helped Carter realize that a person's worth is on the inside--not the outward body.  I wonder, did God put Marcus in our path to teach us many other lessons?

It all reminds me of when David was chosen as king.  Samuel kept thinking David's older brothers were the candidate based on looks.  God tells Samuel

1 Samuel 16:7

 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

So, in honor of Marcus, when you see someone like Marcus, smile and say hello.  Better yet, treat that person like a worthy potential friend.  You have no idea how your life can be changed by knowing someone like Marcus.

And, that segway's to our son Dillon.  I've never really given details about him, just that he has some special needs, some minor health problems, and a moderate to severe language disorder.  There really is no need for details, but as you can imagine, the older he gets, the harder it is.  Right now we are making a decision about letting him play baseball.  You see last year he played tball with kids age 3-6.  He stunk, but he didn't know it or care, and a few other kids stunk too!  This year, at age 7, he would be on the coach pitch team.  I'm really torn about what to do.  Do we let him play, even though we know he will not be able to perform like the other children(his reflexes are slow and he has low muscle tone and some mild asymmetry in his legs according to our neurologist and orthopaedic surgeon) and thus set him up for frustration and other kids being frustrated with him?  OR, do we not let him play, and put him in an individual sport like gymnastics class?  Please, if you are a parent of a special needs child and you've walked through this, leave me a comment saying what you've experienced.  We all know how cruel kids can be(heck, usually adults are cruel too) and it breaks my heart to think of someone being ugly to my sweet Dillon.  Just yesterday Dillon said a big kid at school called him a weirdo.  Mike said he was ready to go visit school and find that kid! :)  Love that defender daddy of mine.
Anyway, this whole post is a reminder that God made people in His image.  We are all fearfully and wonderfully made(psalm139verse14).  Some people have special challenges and they are to be loved and respected as whole persons, not viewed as broken and faulty.