Because they risked their lives to help keep their country secure, many troops have had their lives forever altered.
Some people struggle daily with illnesses we cannot see and fight their demons alone, without the help of family or medical personnel. And other people have physical impairments that prevent them from ever leading a normal life again.
Well, it’s not uncommon to walk past all kinds of interesting characters when entering a Walmart. Most people avoid eye contact, hurrying in and out of the doors as fast as they can—but 21-year-old then Morgan Wheeler decided to take the road less traveled. When Morgan went to reverse out of a Walmart parking lot, she noticed a man in a wheelchair right behind her car struggling to maneuver himself out of the way.
And now the friendship she created with this disabled veteran has gone viral for the sweetest reason ever.
What happened next reduced the man to tears and after sharing what she did in a Facebook post, it went viral.
The injured veteran, who Morgan Wheeler of Fayetteville, West Virginia, thought was in his 60s or 70s, was visible in her rearview mirror.
As she prepared to exit the parking lot, she waited for him to pass by.
“As I watched him, I noticed that he was missing his right leg from the knee down and was wearing, what appeared to be, old, government issued, combat boots,” Morgan said in a Facebook post.
“I backed up my car the inches I had previously pulled forward, put it in park, turned off the engine, and got out. I walked up to him and introduced myself.” Morgan then asked the man if she could help him with his shop today.
“He, quite grumpily, said that he was doing just fine,” Morgan said. “Me, being as stubborn as I am, insisted and proceeded to push him and tell him a little about myself.”
She started pushing him toward the store rather than giving up after he declined her offer of assistance. She then began introducing herself to him.
“He interrupted me and said that he only needed help to the door, to which I picked up where I had left off before he interrupted me,” Morgan said. “I told him about Fayetteville, and my horses, and my nephews.”
Despite what the man had informed her, she opted not to halt when she arrived at the main doors.
“We reached the produce area and I asked him to tell me about himself,” she said. “He reluctantly looked at me and began telling me that he lived in Sod- Lincoln County and that he just recently lost his wife,” she added.
“I asked him if he was a veteran, to which he replied that he was, but with pain on his face, so I changed the subject and asked if he had made a shopping list.”
He gave her a list with only four items on it: bananas, peanut butter, soup, and bread. Therefore, Morgan persisted in pressing the veteran while speaking with him and enquiring as to if he required basic items like milk, eggs, and butter.
The man then said that since he had to wheel himself part of the way and hitch the rest, these necessities might go bad by the time he got them home. He shouldn’t have had to endure such a hardship, thought Morgan.
“So I called a taxi for him and grabbed the essentials plus a few other things and put them in the cart,” she said.“After placing a gallon of milk in his cart he was crying. People were passing by us, looking sideways at him. I knelt down and asked him what was wrong and he replied, that I ‘was doing far too much for an old man that I barely knew.’”
Morgan didn’t want him to be upset. “I told him that he deserved everything I was doing for him because he fought for my freedom and sacrificed so much.”
Morgan helped the brave veteran load himself, his groceries, and his wheelchair into the taxi before paying for the ride and instructing the driver to not only take him home but to assist into the house. Morgan then took the veteran to the checkout line where she paid for his groceries against his wishes and helped him outside to wait for the taxi.
As for the veteran, “I told him thank you for his service before closing the door. Tears formed again and he thanked me one last time and said, ‘God bless you.’ I returned to my car, and could not help but cry.”
She conveyed her grief at the idea of all the individuals who overlooked his problems and walked past him.
She concluded her post with, “Today was a truly humbling experience for me, and I consider myself extremely blessed to have the capability of understanding what is truly important in this world. THAT man was a HERO, and far too many will say otherwise.”
How awesome is it to see girls like Morgan loving people in such a selfless way?
There are heroes all around us who have conquered their own demons that we know nothing about. What an incredible reminder to love people well and to be the hands and feet of Jesus!
Sources: Taphaps, Elitereaders, Lovethispic