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Hometown Madison - March & April 2016

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my life,” she added. “We didn’t have to look<br />

back. We could see it as it was happening.”<br />

She says the thought of going through that<br />

time without her faith is literally terrifying<br />

to her.<br />

“It’s so easy to feel robbed of things,”<br />

Morgan added. “But peace and joy trump that.”<br />

She said that Veda taught her to appreciate<br />

every moment, to love selflessly, to put God<br />

first and depend on him for every need. It<br />

was her daughter that made her realize the<br />

importance of not getting caught up in the<br />

things she couldn’t change and not feeling<br />

sorry for herself. Instead, Veda showed her<br />

how to be brave and find beauty in the trials.<br />

“I oftentimes say God sent Veda to this<br />

world to save me from myself,” she said.<br />

“To save me from a world I was all too eager<br />

to please.”<br />

Veda may not have been able to talk, but<br />

she spoke to the lives of many. Family members<br />

were reunited. People from all over the<br />

country followed Veda’s journey and lifted<br />

her up in prayer. Morgan received emails and<br />

Facebook messages from strangers who told<br />

her how much they were impacted by Veda.<br />

“I have peace in knowing that Veda’s life<br />

mattered. It still matters and will continue to<br />

matter and reach people from all over and<br />

from all walks of life,” said Morgan.<br />

Morgan has made it her mission to share<br />

Veda’s story and spread awareness of CHD.<br />

“God allowed me to not only be her mother,<br />

but to be her voice,” she said. In fact, plans are<br />

in the works to start a foundation in Veda’s<br />

name through Blair E. Batson that will aid<br />

families with CHD.<br />

This February, Morgan traveled to<br />

Nashville for CHD Week, where families<br />

affected by CHD met and a memorial<br />

service was held for those children who had<br />

lost their lives this past year. She also passed<br />

out gift cards, along with Veda’s story, to<br />

parents at Vanderbilt UMC to offer hope to<br />

the families that are in the same place she was<br />

not long ago. “When you are in that type of<br />

environment–in the highest levels of<br />

stress–you turn to those like you for love,<br />

encouragement, and support,” Morgan said.<br />

“It can be a very lonely place and some of my<br />

best friends are moms that I met during our<br />

time there. Those are the real true relationships–the<br />

ones formed in the trenches.”<br />

Through it all, Morgan remains faithful<br />

that God is in control. “If God has taught me<br />

anything, it’s that I can’t rely on my own plans.<br />

When the circumstances of life become<br />

overwhelming, God absolutely gives you what<br />

you need to handle it. So rely on Him for<br />

every need. He is always there. He will never<br />

leave your side. God is faithful to meet us in<br />

the middle of our mess and our pain.”<br />

<strong>Hometown</strong> madison • 23

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