Seeing Beyond Her Chair

When I saw the Special Touch CD, I immediately knew the Arizona Summer Get Away was something I could do. I told my husband I wanted to go and would he go with me. We filled out the paperwork and received our staff manuals. I have to admit… we were intimidated.

I waited in my room for Harriet to arrive. I’ve never worked with anyone in a wheelchair and that’s all I saw. She wasn’t able to speak. She’s had Cerebral Palsy from birth. I was nervous and didn’t really know what to say. Her friend gave me instructions on how to take care of her, gave her a hug and off he went. What do I say or do…Well, praise the Lord, I later found out that she had this little box, like a computer that she would use to tell me what she wanted.

My problem was …I thought because Harriet was physically disabled, she must be mentally disabled as well. It took days before I figured it out. She was smarter than I had realized. She authored two books, takes her motorized chair and goes to the Mall alone, can get anywhere on her knees, and is a powerful Prayer Warrior for others.

When I first saw her, I ONLY SAW THE PERSON. I learned to love this precious person. Nothing got past her. She couldn’t speak but she saw everything. She would point and I would move her to someone who needed a hug. At the evening services, she rocked back and forth and wanted me to stand her up, so she could sing the praise music with her arms raised. She had me push her to the alter as she raised her hands and was anointed by God.

One evening service, Harriet wanted me to take her again to the alter. There was a young woman crying and Pastor Kerry asked Harriet if she would pray for the women. Now you have to remember that Harriet can’t speak…but she went to the woman, placed her hand on her head and in her loudest voice prayed to God. I whispered to the woman that we might not understand Harriet but God did and that she would be blessed by her prayer. Four of us huddled together, praying, crying and praising what God was about to do.

We had two late night staff meetings. Everyone on Tuesday said it was frightening and challenging but by Thursday’s meeting we were all humbled having had the privilege of taking care of people impacted by disability. A caregiver, who was a biker, said he cried constantly but we aren’t suppose to tell his biker buddies.

Our staff manual said that we would be changed. That was an understatement. I HAVE NEVER CRIED AS MUCH AS I DID THIS WEEK. There were hundreds of GOD MOMENTS. Tears of compassion, tears of love and tears of total surrender to what God had placed in front of me.

No more wheelchairs JUST beautiful people who were given to us for this special week. For some we introduced them to Jesus, for others they shared Jesus with us.

Harriet was already the Prayer Warrior….she taught me that we’re so blessed to have our bodies working, to be able to get up and down, to comb our hair and brush our teeth. We don’t have to depend on another person to survive and to get around, or use a box to talk. She taught me it’s all about the King. It’s about our wanting to “wash feet” as Jesus did. It’s about humbling ourselves and opening our hearts. It’s about seeing God in their eyes and repenting for our own pride. Lessons were learned, hearts were changed and love was poured out.

It made me feel lost when I got home because you spent five days and nights physically and mentally working. No TV, no newspaper, no cell phone. You have to ask yourself, “What just happened?” You have to ask yourself about the choices we make in our lives and how we handle those choices. You seek to know what is really important. What you do know …is that you were Molded for Purpose (the theme) by God and that you need to seek his face to see what that purpose is.