The birth of a child is a miraculous and wonderful event. As a father holds the precious new life in his arms, he imagines what the future holds for this little boy or girl.
Chris and Maggie were the same way with, Molly, their second new gift from God. Their son, Taylor, was healthy and growing, just as they expected Molly would do.
God could do anything He wanted through this gift of life that only He could give. Would she be a cheerleader, an athlete, or lead her class as Valedictorian? Would she be gifted with the drive and organizational skills of her father, or the love of art like her mother?
Little did they realize that God’s plans were so much bigger for them, bigger than any dream they might have. Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Ephesus “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
When Molly was a few months old, Maggie began to sense that something did not seem to be right. This was not just a mother’s instinct. It was something that Maggie attributes to the prompting of the Holy Spirit preparing her for something beyond expectations and beyond the greatest blessings that she could ever imagine.
Maggie took Molly to various doctors and specialists. After a series of tests a doctor acknowledged that something was wrong. It turned out to be Rett syndrome.
Rett syndrome is a rare neurological disorder that touches girls, often after a few months of normal growth. Skills that once came easily—using their hands, speaking, walking—slowly slip away, replaced by repetitive movements and physical challenges that require lifelong care.
Molly was never going to run and play. She was never going to sing in the choir. She was never going to be a cheerleader or class valedictorian.
A diagnosis of this nature could place a strain on a family – but God. He opened the hearts of Chris and Maggie to see this blessing from a different perspective.
God also gave Maggie a picture of His body at work on this earth. Maggie discovered that God gave her a support group that impacted her life like she never expected. That support group was the Body of Christ, her local church family.
At one point, while they lived in Colombia, South America, Molly needed back surgery. Chris rented a condo back in the United States near the hospital so Maggie and Natalia, the Colombian educational assistant, could stay with Molly for the recovery period and flight back to Colombia. Chris had to return back to Colombia for work and to be with their son, Taylor.
The condo was four hours away from where Chris and Maggie had lived in the states. One day Maggie got a call from one of her church friends from a former church who said they were coming to help. The word, “help” turned out to be the biggest understatement that anyone could make.
Her friends made the four plus hour drive, showed up and did what was necessary for Maggie. They cleaned, they shopped, they cooked, they told Maggie to go take a walk on the beach when she felt stressed.
Jesus said that where two or three were gathered in His name, He would be there in their midst.
There were more than two or three and Jesus was there. No Pentecostal tongues of flames, no outward bursts of emotion, but there was definitely a deep emotional connection with the power of the Holy Spirit during that one week of help from Maggie’s church.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment, “that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 15:12) Maggie’s friends from church demonstrated that commandment in a way she would remember the rest of her life.
Maggie’s eyes teared up as she talked about them driving four hours and practically invading her house with overwhelming help, support, and love. That was more than just helpful friends. That was the Body of Christ with His supernatural power working through them.
As Molly grew, Maggie and Chris learned something special. Worldly thinking would be that Molly, with the need for such constant care, would be a heavy burden to bear.
Chris and Maggie learned it was quite the opposite. When Maggie talked of love, she said that Molly was perhaps the purest example of the love relationship with have with God.
Molly could not do anything. From a pragmatic viewpoint, she would never “pull her weight” with regard to household chores. She would never fly away and leave the nest.
But from the standpoint of relationship, Molly displayed what it was like to love God and to experience God’s love.
Maggie made the observation that there is no way we can “do” anything for God. We cannot earn His love. The only thing we can do is to experience His showering of love and affection toward us. In Molly, that is not just a theological theory – it is pure agape love from God.
Molly’s life is a quiet, radiant picture of love in its purest form. She cannot earn affection, perform tasks, or contribute in the ways the world often celebrates, yet she is surrounded by a constant outpouring of tenderness from Maggie, Chris, and everyone who knows her. Watching them lean in close, speak gently, and celebrate every small expression is like witnessing a living parable—love freely given, not because of what she does, but because of who she is.
And in that way, Molly becomes a teacher. Without words, she reveals the heart of God more clearly than many sermons ever could. She reminds us that we bring nothing to God that He needs. We cannot impress Him, enrich Him, or earn His affection. Like Molly resting in the arms of those who adore her, we rest in the arms of a Father whose love is not transactional but unconditional. When it comes down to it, that is what God wants from us – just simply to love Him in our trust and reliance on Him.
Molly’s life also reflects the beauty of the Body of Christ. When Maggie’s world grew heavy, her church family stepped in with a love that was practical, sacrificial, and deeply Christlike. They cooked, cleaned, prayed, and carried burdens—quietly fulfilling Jesus’ command to love one another as He has loved us.
Through Molly’s gentle dependence and the overflowing love that surrounds her, we see a glimpse of the Kingdom: a God who delights in His children, a community shaped by grace, and a love that rises even in the hardest places of the quarry.
And it’s in stories like Molly’s that we begin to understand how God uses unexpected places and unexpected people to shape our hearts.
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Thank you for taking the time to read Molly’s story.
