Honest and True to a Commitment

 

I was in a hurry as I drove past the Assisted Living center where my mother had lived. Regardless of the current situation, my thoughts always return to the time when my mother had passed away there.  Just before, I turned down the street past the center; I remembered the commitment I had made with my Father in heaven to serve voluntarily the elderly at that center, but I couldn’t stop today. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fluffy white haired individual sitting alone in a wheelchair on the front porch.  I knew immediately that it was one of the residents, and I wanted to stop and visit, but I was in too much of a hurry to slow down.  My commitment with the Lord came back into my mind and I looked again at the white haired woman sitting in the wheelchair, and then I realized that it was my lovely friend, Donna.  I stopped my car and made a U-turn to go back and visit with her.

Her voice is so frail that I could hardly hear or understand her words and can see the frustration she experiences in her face.  Some people have a difficult time understanding me and I can become frustrated, and perhaps these feelings of frustration becomes the common ground that draws us closer as friends.

She had been sitting with the sunlight in her eyes, and she needed to move out of the sun’s hot rays.  After I moved her around, and as we talked, I remembered that she had wanted to read a copy of my book when it was finished.  It was finished and I had a few extra manuscripts in the car, so I gave her a copy.

After she read the book sunnary page, her eyes started to moisten and she thanked me for sharing my life with her.  She said that she was sorry that both of my parents had passed away in one year.

 She told me about her life and of the death of her husband.  She told me of her young granddaughter who was stricken with a crippling illness and of the profound love she had for her.  She said that God loves those who struggle against adversity and then continue to endure.  I thought of how much God must love her.   

Donna radiates a light that glows in her eyes every time she talks or smiles. She told me of the many Church callings she had held when she was younger, and how she had felt useful then, but now she didn’t. She still had those talents, and the feelings of service toward others are as strong as ever within her heart, but she said that God wanted her to wait patiently until the next life to serve. It wasn’t hard to identify with her feelings of service and importance.

I told her how much she meant to me by allowing me to visit with her.  She took my hand and said that my visits meant a lot to her. She reminded me of Sister Cook, my elderly friend who acted as a mother to me when I was having a hard time.

I felt as if I was in the presence of an angel, and I was grateful for the peace that came from being honest and true to a commitment.

Tags: RuntoTomorrow Honesty Elderly Commitment Aging Service

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