The Power of Yes

Just yesterday I discovered Jennifer Bricker’s gripping story online.  Born without legs, Jennifer was adopted by optimistic parents who taught her to never use the word “can’t.”  She was encouraged to follow her dreams and passions, and grew up believing she could do anything – gymnastics, baseball, basketball, you name it.  Born with an innate interest in sports and other physical activities, and blessed by her parents' motivating response to it - their yes - she did participate in those things.  And more.

As an award-winning tumbler, Jen especially idolized professional gymnasts, especially Olympian Dominique Moceanu who was six years her senior.  On a fated day when she was sixteen, Jen learned Dominique was, incredibly, her own biological sister. 

Dominique never knew about Jen, who was given up for adoption at the moment of birth by her father as a legless burden.  In fact, he never allowed his wife to even see the child, let alone hold her.

This same controlling father pushed Dominique to excel at gymnastics.  She was swallowed up by his rigid demands, and as a teenager she pressed charges to be released from parental custody.  At that point, her father had confiscated over a million dollars belonging to the young athlete, and his domineering ways had become abusive and demeaning.

To bring the story up-to-date, now these two young women have reconnected: Jen the physically disadvantaged girl who grew up with the advantage of loving acceptance and encouragement, and Domonique, the physically advantaged girl who grew up with the disadvantage of crushing, demanding possessiveness.

Both are strong, successful young adults.  But I can’t help but recognize what seems to be a major difference: the notorious disabled one continues to freely dream and accomplish beyond her wildest imagination, while the famous, fully able-bodied one is motivated to achieve by recovering what was lost in years of crippling emotional manipulation. 

How powerful are the words we speak to a child! Yes, you are valuable and endowed by passions worthy of expression, or no, you are unworthy of pursuing dreams except those forced upon you, or else no dreams at all.