Faith Through a Scoliosis Journey

Speaker 1: 0:00

My main message, I would say, is that your story makes you who you are. I prayed for a different outcome. I begged God to not have the surgery I had, but if he hadn't allowed me to go through that surgery, then I might never have found my love for ceramics. I might never have touched clay in a pottery studio that I never would have found if I hadn't had the scoliosis experience. But he has blessed me so much through that, and so I no longer focus on what I lost about. I can't dance, I can't bend my spine. I am focusing on what God has given me and everything that he's blessed me with that I'm able to do for his glory.

Speaker 2: 0:33

Well, hello. Awards for Change podcast. This is Lionel, your host. I'm excited to be here with you to have a very important conversation, a conversation that I feel it is absolutely necessary for us to talk about. That's right. We're going to talk about healing today. We're going to talk about what does it mean to be, or an experienced healing. What are the influences of healing on our body, at least from a Christian perspective? We're not going to get into the medical piece, but we're going to talk about it because healing is an important conversation within the Christian circle. Does God still heal the way God healed many, many years ago? As a conversation that many are still having? And because of your inputs and because of what you've said and asked of me, I thought it necessary to have this conversation today, and so, as we begin, I want you to check out this clip.

Speaker 3: 1:33

First, I had a lot of back pain. Well, fast forward to the past five years, I found out that in my lower vertebrae I had a bulging disc in my L4 and L5. Well, with scoliosis you have a curvature of the spine, so my whole spine needed readjusting. So I would go to chiropractor because I had problems lifting, I had problems working out, I had problems bending down. I just had chronic back pain. And when Pastor Frankie had the word of knowledge on scoliosis, I just knew that, by faith, I needed to walk up and receive healing. So before he got to me, I stood at the altar and I was just going to go ahead and receive my healing. Just thank God for what he's doing. I was trying not to overthink it. So I had asked the Holy Spirit I'm like, just help me to stand still. So I did. I stood still and I felt the movement again. Well, at the same time, at the very top of my back, where the curvature is, I could feel this menthol type of feeling, as if someone was putting an ice pack on my back. So I knew I was receiving my healing at that time. And also, when I stood there, I felt my shoulders relax as if my neck was being stretched up and I was standing taller, and so by the time Pastor Frankie got to me, he put his hand on my lower back and he began praying over me. And when he prayed over me, he said do you feel that? And I said yes, and it was that flutter feeling. And he prayed over me again and he asked me again. He said did you feel that? And I said yes, and but I also told him about the coolness that I was feeling where my curvature in my spine is, and he prayed a blessing over me after that and I walked out a healed woman, and I have not had pain ever since.

Speaker 2: 3:30

But you've heard it, there are many people who have experienced healing in their bodies, not only medically but supernaturally, and this is a conversation that we want to talk about today. This is our theme. Our theme today is resiliency and artistry how beauty can be shaped out of adversity, and I'm reminded of the scripture verse from Luke, from Matthew 4.23, that says Jesus went throughout all Galilee and as he was preaching the kingdom of God, he was healing people at the same time, and so this is an important conversation for us to have, because there's many of you who are listening and you may be struggling with physical pain, you may have a diagnosis that's not too well and you're wondering God, when are you going to heal? How are you going to heal and when are you going to come through for me, and maybe your prayers have not been answered and we? This episode is not to say that. This is why prayers are answered this way and why people get healed and some don't. That's not this episode. But on the other side, we're going to have a special guest, morgan MacArthur. It's going to come up on the other side of this intro. She is going to talk about her personal experience with scoliosis and how God used that to help shape her life and help shape her ministry and shape her service to the world. So, bucca, you see belts, I think it's going to be a really, really Good episode. Hello, ms Morgan, how are you today?

Speaker 1: 5:38

Hi, I'm doing well. How are you?

Speaker 2: 5:41

I am doing absolutely fantastic, man. I'm excited to, to to have you on the show. I'm excited for everything you're going to share with the audience. We got a special topic we're talking about today, and so I you're going to talk about your experience, how you've dealt with these things, how you struggle with them and, more so, what was the ingredient that led you to the place where you are right now, which is vitally important. So why don't you start off by introducing yourself to the people? Let me just say this for those of you who are wondering Morgan is a. She does cremics. She is also a author of a book. Guard god the artist. And Did I get that right, morgan? You did yes, okay, so, and she is a speaker, she does workshops or she does, or she has a degree, and uh, cremics and artistry, and she was actually received a grant also to do her work, and so what's more important, I think, though, is how god used her, through a very crippling experience with her physical health, to shape her ministry and what she's doing today, and so everybody I introduce to you, morgan, morgan, why don't you tell the people a little something about yourself that I anything that I miss, you could fill in the blanks, morgan.

Speaker 1: 7:03

Of course. Well, hi, thank you so much for having me. Um, that was a great intro. Like you said, I um I am an artist, I'm an author. I love doing both. I have worn many hats and I currently am in Asheville, north Carolina. That's kind of where my studio setup is. So I'm a southern girl as well. I grew up in South Carolina and I moved to North Carolina, so, um, I love that. Sweet tea and barbecue.

Speaker 2: 7:30

Yeah, north Carolina's got great barbecue. They even have their own barbecue sauce, the yellow sauce. Isn't that a North Carolina thing?

Speaker 1: 7:38

It might be, I'm used to the South Carolina barbecue. That is really, really sweet. So when I came up to North Carolina I was shocked, because it's that tangy vinegary, which is still very good, but I'm used to that barbecue sauce made out of cheer wine.

Speaker 2: 7:52

Yeah, yeah, I kind of I can't air on the sweet side as well. So, morgan, tell us a little bit about, uh, no, how did you get to the point where you are? So you saw the interview at the very beginning, with the lady in her experience with Healing in a religious sense, right Like physical body, she struggled with scoliosis. So have you ever seen anything like that or experience, or know someone? Or maybe that was your experience? I'm not sure.

Speaker 1: 8:19

Um, that wasn't my experience. Of course I was praying for an experience like that, but that's not the story God wanted me to have. But I have. Through sharing my story, I've learned of people who have had those types of just miraculous healing experiences from God. And wow, that is just so powerful, because those are stories that you read about in the bible but you don't hear about in today's world. They don't make the news and, you know, no one really talks about just the miracles because the doctors can't explain it. But it's wow, it is a powerful story to have that type of just direct, hands-on healing from God.

Speaker 2: 8:56

Yeah, I did a lot of research around this area and just trying to get a understanding of the complications Of having scoliosis and what that means. So can you explain people to people who may not be that familiar with what? What exactly is that? Would you call it a disease or just a physical element?

Speaker 1: 9:17

Um, it is a genetic type thing. They're not exactly sure. The doctors don't really know how it transfers through genetics. For instance, my aunt had it, my mom's sister, but my mom didn't have it but she had me who had it. So it's kind of weird how it jumps generations and family trees and how that exactly works. But it is technically part of a genetic disability and Most people have scoliosis and don't have to have surgery. Some people never even know it. But essentially, when you're hitting that growth spurt for me it was that last kind of growth spurt when I was a teenager your, my spine. It was supposed to grow straight up, like you mentioned, or she mentioned in the video. Your spine grows straight up, of course, and that is not how mine was growing. It was actually growing from side to side and I actually had three different curves that were varying by degrees. So I had one in my neck, one in my upper back and one in my lower back and that was making my shoulders uneven. It was making my hips uneven, and not only was my spine curving from side to side, but it was also rotating and so that was starting to Contort my torso and it was starting to constrict my lung capacity, I wasn't able to take full breaths of air. And Um, all these different things that you probably wouldn't notice At immediate glance, but you could tell my shoulders were uneven and different things like that. And um, there are things you can do to kind of prevent or put off surgery if you're able to. And um, my appearance took me to multiple doctors and I wore a back brace a corrective back brace for um about three years, in hopes that it would hold my spine where it was already curving, but it would just hold it in place and not let it get worse. And um, after those three years I had kind of reached the end of my growth spurt and the doctors said it's really not helping, it's only getting worse. And so at that point they decided that the best option would be for me to have surgery.

Speaker 2: 11:19

Now, when did your parents realize that you had this? Uh, you had this genetic uh? Uh, predispositional maybe, but when did they? When was the first signs? Were you a young kid or what?

Speaker 1: 11:32

I was in fifth grade at the time. So, um, what would that be about? 11? Um, and I, yeah, it's, it's not very obvious again, some people don't even know they have it. But, um, my mom was putting sunscreen on me at the beach and and she noticed that my shoulders were uneven and, of course, from her having a sister, she kind of knew what to look for. And that's when we started going in for x-rays and realizing, Um, you know, it's not just one curve, it's actually three curves, and my back is trying to compensate by having those other curves and my lower back. Actually, that was the worst curve, it was the most curved by degrees and that was progressing pretty rapidly. And so, um, um, these things were caught early and the hope was that, through back racing and different things, it was caught early enough. But that wasn't the story that god gave me. So I ended up having to have surgery when I was 14 14 years old and Was there any uh, not uh.

Speaker 2: 12:33

was there any? Um? Was it physical From your appearance? Like, were your friends? I mean, you can imagine, right? One thing I know for sure is that kids can be brutally, you know, uh, uh, I don't know, I'm trying to find the right word but they can really Be cruel sometimes. And so did you experience any of that From your, your experience when you were a kid, a kind of dealing and struggling with this thing and learning about it and yeah, yeah, and in some ways yes and in some ways no.

Speaker 1: 13:08

Thankfully, I went to um, a great. It was a christian school and my classmates were really kind and accommodating. But it was hard on so many levels because, unlike the video, I didn't have pain before my surgery, Um, which is hard to believe, but I just didn't. That was just how it went. And so having this surgery it was a year-long recovery process that was very painful and it meant that my spine was fused completely straight. So I had two rods and 18 screws, um, all titanium, um, basically holding my spine straight, and so I have a crazy incision that I mean this is like pretty much my entire spine. All of my vertebrae are fused together for the most part, and that was a lot to recover from. I had been dancing at the time and I wasn't able to do that during recovery, so I felt like I lost that friend group, um, and then, like going into the classroom, I wasn't allowed to bend or twist. Of course, I couldn't pick anything up over 10 pounds, and those textbooks are six pounds each if you've ever weighed one. So that automatically knocked out me carrying a backpack, and so students would have to help me. My fellow classmates would help open doors for me or carry textbooks for me, and they were gracious to do that. But of course it made me feel very awkward and self-conscious and I felt like people were looking at me and I couldn't just run up and hug my friends anymore. And so people were kind of standoffish because they were afraid you know, you can't hug her, you'll mess something up. And so there are all these things Um, even I talk about. There's a story, uh, I went to apple bees after church with my family and we were just going out for lunch one sunday and I had to carry a pillow with me everywhere I went, because I couldn't lean back against, um the rigid chairs at the time, and so I was carrying this pillow and walking in and the Waiter standing there kind of made a joke and he was like, oh, is someone going to take a nap? And I know he was just, you know, being funny. He didn't understand the situation. Most people don't come into a restaurant with a pillow, um, but that really, I mean, that was something that Um stuck with me for a while and it's still like I had to work through that because that's something that I can't control and it's. It doesn't look like there's anything physically wrong with me, but there is, and that is now affecting my mental state and all of those things combined with being a teenager and having Body image anyway, you know how teenagers, how that goes, and so um, all of that kind of combined to. It was a very hard year, for sure.

Speaker 2: 15:41

I'm wondering where was uh, when was god in all of this? Did you ever ask yourself that question?

Speaker 1: 15:48

Yes, um, and I had become a christian. I gave my heart to Jesus when I was about seven years old, so I'd been a christian for um a little bit, but you know, when you're so young, I basically I enjoyed going, but I basically went because my parents went. So I went to church when they drove me, I went to Wednesday nights when they took me, um, but I didn't really make my faith my own until I was going to happen and I was really praying for that miraculous healing and I was praying to god that he would take away that cup that it was in front of me, um, and he didn't, and I realized this is going to happen, I'm going to have to have the surgery, and so then my prayer changed to please be with me, please protect me, help it go well, um, because you know all these things that could happen and you're back and Definitely don't want to be doesn't. I don't want it to be worse or anything like that, and so all these things are going through my head that you know, lord, just be with me. And, um, he really was, and that really strengthened my prayer life then and really started that personal relationship with god.

Speaker 2: 16:53

So I want to take you back a little bit, uh, because I know there are people who are dealing with physical pain you know life and death situations here and they may have had a diagnosis that is terminal and they're praying morning and they're not seeing god Do anything. So how did you do? How did you? You know, when you look at the scripture in matthew 4, 23 that we talked about at the very beginning, it says that part of jesus kingdom Uh, healing or kingdom coming was the physical healing that happened With the people he interacted with. So when you think about, you know, healing in the kingdom of God, right, this is, this is about wholeness. It's not, it's about total wholeness, like it's physical wholeness as well as spiritual Holders, mental wholeness, so forth and so on. This is the kingdom. So you're not seeing that manifested in your story. What was that experience like? What kind of dungeon did that take you to?

Speaker 1: 17:57

That was hard and honestly I didn't realize God's beauty and grace through my Testimony until over a decade later. And I know for the listeners that can be hard to hear and that was that's just my story and that's where I was coming from. But we want that instant gratification and sadly that wasn't how that happened for me. But I mentioned before mental struggles. That was real thinking about how my body would never be able to bend and twist and dance like I used to. That was a real struggle for me. And then just even my appearance. I have a very stiff posture and so it looks like I have, you know, great posture. I'm sitting up straight but I physically can't do anything else, I can't bend anything. So now, even now, even even now, yes, it's, it's huge so how long can you sit before you have to stand, or Sitting is okay. I really can't lean back against a chair because the way my back is, the chair like, the proportions, the dimensions of the chair are, don't align with my back, so finding a good like comfy chair is really important to me. That was the main thing I looked for when I was getting a car. Was that the car seat needed to be comfortable for me. Um, but still, yeah, I still can't bend my back, so that's just something that I'll live with for the rest of my life and that was really hard for me to control any other areas in your life that that this has long-term effects on Other than just like standing and sitting um, I've realized, because of how things are, I'll injure myself in other ways that I didn't fully realize that, oh, this is probably because of my back, so like, for instance, I had tendonitis in my elbow and Necessarily it's not just because, oh, because I had this surgery, I have tendonitis, but I do a lot of work with my hands and so it's because there's certain nerves that are getting pinched because my spine doesn't been naturally that's going to trigger other areas and I have a knee issue. I'm still trying to get sorted out and it's been, it's been going on for over a year and basically, because I can't turn my back, I'm twisting my knees and so I'm putting a lot of strain on a joint that's only really supposed to been like a door hinge. Now I'm trying to twist it, and so there's different things that I didn't really realize. This was going to just kind of chronically cause pain throughout my life in other areas, other physical ailments. But you know, that's that is how it goes, and I've just learned that my War, my war on this earth, my spiritual warfare, my battles, one of that is fighting the pain and fighting the ailments and Injuries I seem to get relatively frequently.

Speaker 2: 20:52

Yeah, do you ever want? Do you ever look at other people and Wonder why you Is that?

Speaker 1: 21:00

I did and I still do occasionally, but especially for the first decade going through it, before I saw God's beauty in all of this I did, I couldn't understand why this would have to happen to me, why this was so important to happen at the age it happened at, which now, looking back, I realized if I had waited longer, the recovery process would have been worse and my back could have contorted more, and so they wouldn't have been able to correct it as well as they did. But yeah, it's hard, especially seeing other people with scoliosis who's who maybe didn't have curvatures all throughout their spines, or maybe the curvature wasn't as bad so they didn't have to have the surgery, or their surgery only Involved half of their back, the upper half or the lower half and seeing how quickly they're able to recover and how quickly that they're able to go back to things and they can bend part of their back, and, of course, that's that's very hard. It's when you're in a spot like that it's very easy to see everything that you've lost instead of focusing on everything that God has given you and, like I said, that took me years to really realize that.

Speaker 2: 22:09

Mmm-hmm. How did your parents deal with it, did they? They struggled along with you. They were really great.

Speaker 1: 22:17

Yeah, I'm sure they struggled more than they let on, but they were great about helping me heal and recover. I pretty much had to do school at home for over a month and all these different things. I had to learn how to walk again after the surgery because my hips had you know, they had flattened, straightened out my hips, and so there were muscles in one leg that were shorter because that hip had been higher, and so there's so many things that you don't think about that. You really use your back for so many things, from sitting, like we've talked about, to Learning to walk again, to, I mean, even just like laying in the bed, having to change position so the incision isn't messed up and you don't get bed sores and all these different things. I'm so thankful that they were able to do that for me, but I'm sure it was very hard on them and it was a long. It was a long road to recovery for the family.

Speaker 2: 23:08

Well, you know, I'm thinking there are people when they have these kind of experiences, they will get addicted to medications, right, because it's not only a physical battle, it's a mental battle, it's it's going through the process of what does this mean for my future? What does this mean for my present? You know, not being as mobile as I should be, and because of these complicated, very, very complicated circumstances, people have a tendency to lean on Substance abuse. Right, that's when substance abuse kicks in for a lot of people. You know, probably as well as I know, not from personal experience, but just from reading and things that you've heard, um, that that people have a lot of pain. I remember reading books. I read a book years ago about a um, a man who was struggling with spinal cancer I can't remember the name of it, but it was cancer and spine and he wrote a book about cut the ink was called finding the light, but it was a beautiful book, but he talked about how he discovered God in that process and did you Is this when? Um? And so, in his perspective, he talked about his doubts, right, he talked about how he doubted God, why he had this experience, and then he doubted God, other people information that I read. He said they went off into a very deep and dark place. Right, um, did you go into a deep and dark place, or is this when, when pottery came into the, into the situation?

Speaker 1: 24:51

Yeah, that's a great question. Um, the pain medicine that they had me on made me physically sick. I won't go into detail about that, but honestly, that turned me against drugs forever. I never want to feel like that again, um, so I guess that was God's blessing and disguise for that. But, um, I I agree with the things you're saying. When I was a competitive dancer, I had just gone to the regional competition I had been working to get to for years, and that was a month before my surgery. I finally made it that far and I felt like I was at the top of my game athletically, um it's, I was competing, doing all of these things. And then all of that was taken away, and that was really hard, especially coming out of school, and I, you know, got out for the summer. Now I'm by myself and I'm at home and I can't do anything. And my mom basically noticed that, like you're saying, um, you can go to a really dark place, and so she signed me up for a pottery class just to Get me, get me out of the house, get me around other people, back into the real world, and, um, give me a creative outlet. And it was just amazing the freedom that I found in the clay. Um, I was able to get the flexibility out of the clay that I couldn't get out of my physical body anymore and I was able to have such a personal relationship by touching this clay with my bare hands and making anything I wanted to out of this clay, and it really was eye-opening and, um, I really say like that I was finding God through that creative process. I think that's important to realize. God is not, you know, my creative process is not my God. I don't want to ever idolize pottery, but God has all of these beautiful symbols of his love and his word All about pottery just woven into that, and so I'm recognizing these through that relationship that I have with the clay. As the potter, I'm able to recognize God's relationship with me as him being the potter and I'm being the clay, and so I'm able to start to see all of these things and find that joy in the creative process and recognizing that God's giving me this joy to create. Um, it really was freeing during that time and it was just what I needed for sure.

Speaker 2: 27:05

So, so let's talk about that's a great transition to this question how have you seen God's creative nature Through pottery and how has that helped your relationship with God? Right, that's, that's the question I bring to you, because, for those who Maybe they've, they've plunged down right into that dark place and they don't know how to get up from it, um, they don't. They, they're having a hard time to recover from that place. Now the question is how, what, what are you using and what are you utilizing to help you Do some things that are more positive, that can rebuild your life and begin rebuilding your faith? Because, morgan, not everybody goes the route that you went, and that's the truth, right, some of them go the other route. So, how, how have you noticed God's what you? How has pottery helped your creative understanding of God in artistry and how God creates through situation, pain and in hardship?

Speaker 1: 28:14

Hmm, yes, that's. That's powerful and that's a great question. I think a lot of it is. God speaks to us in a language we understand, right like he's constantly drawing us to him, and so when I'm in the studio I'm constantly learning life lessons as well as spiritual lessons the Holy Spirit's constantly speaking to me and how this can relate to my Faith walk, and I think that's so important to just be in tune with that. But I also know that it took me years to get there, and so I I would say, if you're in that place where you don't know where to start, start by finding what your passion is. Maybe you know it, maybe you don't, and that could mean Stepping out of your comfort zone, trying something new. When I went into that first pottery class, I couldn't lift the bag of clay. It was embarrassing. I had to ask the the instructor to help me carry the 25 pound bag of clay because I wasn't allowed to lift it, and so it's not just something that will come easy, but once you find what you're passionate about, it really just draws you into that. And clay is beautiful in that way, because you never really know the drying process. You kind of know what's going to happen, but if it's really cold and the heat's on all night, then my clay dries out a lot quicker. Or if it rained, then the studio is more humid and so my clay is drying out more slowly. And so having this clay that is so similar to an organism in that it is, it's constantly needing attention and changing and it changes my plans based on whether it's dry or wet I Need to focus on that. And so the clay really Makes me get back into the studio, because now I need to check on the pieces I made the day before. How are they drying? Okay, let's move to the next step or give that attention to those pieces in that moment. So it's all of these different things that are kind of culminating into that. But just starting at the beginning and finding the joy in the creative process is what I would encourage you to do, because we're all creative and I can say that because God made us in his image and God is creative, and if we truly believe that, then we have to believe that we're all creative. That's just by default, you know, and it creativity looks different for everyone, and sometimes that means Sometimes it means that we're not the best, and I recognize I'm not the best potter, I don't make the most ceramics, I don't sell the most pottery, I don't have the biggest Instagram account, but that doesn't disqualify me from being a potter and it doesn't discredit my work, and I think that's so important in this social media culture to remember. God gave you the ability to create and he gave you that joy and that passion for that creative process, and by doing what he designed for you to do and finding that joy, you're honoring him in that way, and so I would just encourage everyone to find that creative process.

Speaker 2: 31:01

So how? How has the your battle with? With scoliosis Help you express, right, that's a unique way of expressing yourself. So how has your battle with that? That scoliosis help the way you express your, your artistry? I?

Speaker 1: 31:21

Do bring my scoliosis experience into some of my pieces. I have a sculptural series. It's called the x-ray series and it actually recently was in a solo exhibition called postures in porcelain. But essentially I have this antique lace that I've dipped in porcelain slip or clay and then I fire it and that burns out all of that antique lace and you're left with this beautiful white skeleton of porcelain and I've contorted these lace images and these lace pieces in all of these different ways and I've incorporated wire into some. And I'm really just giving commentary on a scoliosis experience from my perspective how our bodies could look different, but they're still beautiful and so many people have Told me that they resonate with these pieces. They'll look at them and say this reminds me of a friend who had scoliosis or even other types of surgeries. Maybe it's a hip replacement, but they're really able to connect with the beauty of these lace images. But it's really a skeleton of porcelain that's been manipulated and I think that can be so powerful too. It's gone against the original design. It was supposed to be similar to how my body started growing against the Normal human form of a body, but through surgery and through wires, through that titanium rods and screws. I was straightened back up so well I mean in life.

Speaker 2: 32:46

Life is definitely persistent, right life is absolutely persistent. I Just remember there's a story, real quick as a story, about a tree line. So there's a really flush tree line. Think about the pine trees in the south, like they grow close together and they're they're really beautiful. But then there's a almost like an invisible line and it's absolutely drought after that line. So you see all these beautiful a A trees, pine trees, and then there's a long, most an imaginary line and then there's drought, almost as if the trees have said I was gonna stop, I can't stop growing. But when you look out in the drought, you see these little patches of flourishing Grass that looks like grass. What we come to find out is that they weren't grass, they were actually branches from trees that grew in those desert like places, which really suggests you know life is like that, that when we think is barren, that God finds a way to bring you know life back again. When we go through struggles, god finds a way to give us hope and a miss of the struggles that you and I and many who are listening going through. So my question to you is what do you hope? I wonder if there's one piece of art and I don't know if you've already described this that really describes your, your, your journey with scoliosis. Is there one piece of art that you really, really want people to kind of take a look at?

Speaker 1: 34:14

I don't know if I necessarily have one piece. I really am very intentional with everything I create and so there's kind of these little Easter eggs or Symbols, if you will, throughout my work. So, and the more functional pottery. I do a lot of porcelain, utilitarian type pieces, so vases, cups, different types of useful things, teapots, creamers. I'll incorporate hexagons a lot in my work and that is kind of a commentary on how it's the human desire to control the organic, and so hexagon is like a circle.

Speaker 2: 34:48

It's like that hold on, morgan. What does that mean? That's a, that's a ringdinger there. That's what I like to say. Right through that you said that. He said the human desire. The hexagon represents the human desire to control Natural things or human things. What does it organic? Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 35:09

Yeah, so I I am drawing from different aesthetics, specifically like English Victorian kind of styles, and so during that time period there was a lot of corsetry and that's that human desire to control the organic form. So they're tightening their waist with this Manmade thing to make themselves look more beautiful and in the same way but not the same way I had to wear a very tight, painful back brace to force my spine to be to conform, and so I'm kind of playing with that idea with the hexagons, how they're almost that organic, smooth circle, but they have those rigid lines and angles in them and I think that that can be powerful because it is our desire. We want to trim our shrubbery, we want to groom our dogs. There's all this desire to take what is growing naturally, just fine, and change it. And while I recognize I needed to have that surgery, that wasn't how my body originally wanted to grow, whether that's right or wrong, and I know that would have compacted my lungs. I wouldn't have been able to sit up straight If I hadn't had the surgery. I would have been very contorted. But it's still that human desire to control that organic. So I incorporate that a lot in my work as well. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 36:31

And I think that's the conversation. The human desire to control the organic is a conversation. I'm assuming many people have it right Because, like in your situation where your spine is not going correctly and those who are dealing with the same disease and many other kinds of diseases, I'm sure they're happy about these medical ways by which you can straighten these things out and not to really get controversy here. I don't want to take the conversation in the wrong direction, but I'm on the West Coast and there's a lot of human desire to control the human or natural organism, whether that be what you put in your face or in your lips or whatever the case may be right, kind of the Victorian era that you talked about as well. And as a father, this is a conversation that I have with daughters, my daughters that I have right because they see it all the time right, and so you know my stance is and it's not really a stance, but I think there are people who need those things medically and then there are those who just desire because they can control that, and there's not a moral statement for me to make there, as much as just trying to understand that there are people in the world who see that they have the power to make these choices and to change these human features, their personal human features. You know, whether it be Botox and the lips or the eyes, or you know all kinds of stuff that's going on now and they're unsure. You're aware of right. I think just that's the way the world is going. I won't make a moral position about that. But then there are others who need these things, right they're. It makes their life a lot better. So I'm wondering, morgan they're someone listening to this episode or watching on YouTube have scoliosis? What message do you want to deliver to them through your art and through your creative work that can be an encouragement to them?

Speaker 1: 38:40

My main message, I would say, is that your story makes you who you are, and I think that's important to remember that I prayed for a different outcome. I begged God to not have the surgery I had, but if he hadn't allowed me to go through that surgery, then I might never have found my love for ceramics, I might never have touched clay in a pottery studio, and that really completely transformed my life, from going to college to get a degree for it to moving to a different state, all of these different things that God has allowed me to do through pottery that I never would have found if I hadn't had the scoliosis experience. And so I would just say, because of all of these things and it took me a while to realize that God gave me these gifts and I see everything that he's given me as a gift, even the surgery, but he has blessed me so much through that, and so I no longer focus on what I lost about. I can't dance, I can't bend my spine. Of course I mention it if it's. You know, I can't participate in that because of my health. But I'm not focusing on that anymore. I'm not constantly living in that pity party that I was so many years. I am focusing on what God has given me and everything that he's blessed me with that I'm able to do for his glory. So I would encourage you. Your story, of course, is different than mine If you have scoliosis. It's still going to be different than mine. That's just the beauty of scoliosis and the beauty of the world. And so God gave you your story to share with others, to just show God's glory, and I think that's just something so beautiful that your story is going to be so, so, very different than mine and it needs to be heard just as much.

Speaker 2: 40:21

Yeah, man, what a way you put that, Morgan. The beauty of scoliosis. That may be your next book.

Speaker 1: 40:27

It might, you never know.

Speaker 2: 40:29

Speaking of your next book? Morgan's current book is coming out soon. Has your book released yet, Morgan? It releases January 9th January 9th, God, the artist revealing God's creative side through pottery. So those of you watching on YouTube, you can see she has a book signing the oh, January 13th, I'm assuming in Carolina Is there a particular city. You'll be so yes.

Speaker 1: 40:58

So the first one, the 13th, that is, in Spartanburg, south Carolina, and then, continuing on, I've got one at Reems Creek Pottery on the next Saturday, the 20th Yep, that will be in Weaverville. And then, for the Asheville North Carolina folks, I'll be, I'll be at the top, I'll be at the cottage collections in downtown Asheville on January 27th and then coming forwards in February, if you're an AU student, I'll come back to my alma mater, anderson University in South Carolina, and I'm going to give a talk for you guys in February.

Speaker 2: 41:29

So Amazing, amazing, well, I mean what? What an interesting interview we've had here. In my final question to is what advice would you give to young artists dealing with similar health issues and dealing with health challenges and then having to create and keep creating while you're dealing with their health challenges?

Speaker 1: 41:52

Yeah, that's a big one, and that's I mean, as I'm telling everyone listening I'm also telling it to myself is to listen to your body, because it's telling you things and I don't always do that. That's why I've got this knee problem, but I think it's it's important to help yourself as much as you can. So, like I know that bending over the pottery wheel is hard for me, so I've worked my practice around other ways to make pottery that isn't on the wheel. I do throw some pieces on the wheel occasionally, but I have one Saturday during the month set aside and that is my throwing Saturday, and I'll know I'll need a couple of days after that to recover. So just kind of planning your life around and planning your practice around your health. I know it can be frustrating, but you know you've got to take care of yourself in the moment to be able to continue to making art for the rest of your life, and I think that's so important. And just paying attention as well to all of the safety precautions you can take in the studio. Clay is not supposed to be brewed in the dry form, so wear that mask if you're dry sanding your pots or try to avoid sweeping up all that. Clay dust Pottery is similar to painting in that there's chemicals that can be cancerous if you don't take proper precautions. So make sure you're following the proper guidelines and if you're not sure what those are, you can reach out to me. I can help you with the ceramics ones or, you know, google is a great place to go for answers like that. But I think it's just so important to structure your practice around what you're able to do. For instance, I know I can only lift 50 pounds and that's one box of clay, so I'm trying to keep things waist height. I'm not trying to pick things up directly off the ground, because I know that's too challenging for me. So just constantly adjusting your practice and then not being afraid to ask for help, which is something else that I struggle with. But sometimes it's just better for your body if you ask someone else to help you out and usually they're happy to help, and then you're not recovering for weeks after because you did something you shouldn't have done.

Speaker 2: 43:56

So that's always important to keep in mind Awesome, awesome. Well, a great, great conversation with Megan. You can reach out to her at MeganMcArthurcom. You can see all of her see the information about her book that's coming out here very, very soon, on the 9th of January, and a book signings that she has going on Again, that's MeganMcArthurcom. Morgan, I'm more excited. I keep saying Morgan, you're good. I don't know why I keep saying Morgan, you're good. You can just charge me later for that. Put in some stakes and so yeah, so I'm absolutely excited and happy that you decided to come by and share with our audience, and we know that people are going to be blessed. So, if you're out there, thank you so much for coming through and listening. I want to encourage you to check us out, not only here. You can make a comment down below. If you like what you heard today and what you saw and you want to ask Morgan more questions, please make a comment below and I'll make sure her information is in the show notes. You can also check out Words for Change podcast. You can see us on YouTube page there and as well as on our chapstalkorg chapstalkorg, where you can get more information about Words for Change podcast and this episode. And Morgan Morgan, thank you so much for joining us. Can we pray a prayer of, or can you pray for us and for someone who's listening, who may be dealing with this disease and they're struggling to figure out what's next? Would you be so kind to just bless them and encourage them?

Speaker 1: 45:43

with the prayer as we exit. Of course, dear Lord, I thank you for being able to have this conversation today. I thank you for all of the listeners, especially the listeners who have made it this far, to the end of the story, and I know that they are struggling through their own difficulties and they are probably asking you why they're going through what they are, just as I was so many years ago, and I just thank you for giving them their stories, because you are going to show up in so many different ways. You're going to just bless them and reveal your grace and your power through them. As your word says, your power shows up best through our weakness, and so we thank you for our weaknesses, so that we can constantly point to you, and I just pray for those who are hurting today, whether that's mentally or physically. I just pray for them that you would just put your healing hand upon them, whatever that might look like, whether that is through the beautiful miraculous healing, or whether that's through our earthly doctors, whatever that is, I just pray that you have your hand through all of it and that you walk alongside of them through all of that. I encourage you, them and all of their creative processes. I ask you to bless them and to help them just have those beautiful relationships with you and to strengthen them in their creativity so that they are able to see you in a completely different light. I thank you for everything that you've given us and everything that you will give us, and I look forward to your coming back. In your name, I pray Amen.

Speaker 2: 47:21

Oh man, thank you so much, morgan. Well, god bless you. Lord, keep you in care, cause his face is shining upon you, and looking forward to seeing the great work that God has for you in the future. Okay, talk to you soon.

Speaker 1: 47:32

Thank you so much.