Conversation At The Nursing Home

Thanksgiving week at the Nursing Home. We were there one morning sewing "friendship stars" with about ten ladies in the dining hall. This is what I heard...

“Where’s my project?”
“Here you go, Helen.”
“Oh…. But you said you were going to work on it for me.”
“I didn’t have time; but we’ll help you today.”
“Why didn’t you work on my quilt?”
“I just didn’t have a chance, Helen. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too.”
“I’ll thread a needle for you and help you, okay?”
“Okay. Hurry up.”
“Alright… Are you ready for Thanksgiving, Helen?”
“I don’t care whether it comes or goes.”
“Oh.”
“Does this class start at ten?”
“Yes, it does. Were you expecting visitors?”
“Never mind. I have something on my mind.”
“Okay. Look, you can sew right along this line.”
“All right.”
“Hey Mom! Are you doing an activity?”
“Is this your daughter, Helen?”
“Yes. Hi, Marie.”
“Hi Mom! How’s it going?”
Sniff. Sniff.
“Why don’t you come to visit me?”
“Mom, I was just here on Friday! Don’t cry.”
“What day is it today?”
“Monday. I was here two days ago. You don’t remember?”
“You haven’t been here for so long. You never come.”
“Mom, I was just here. Don’t cry.”
“Marie, I don’t want to live anymore.”
“Mom, don’t say things like that.”
Sniff. Sniff.
“What have you been doing, Mom? How’s it going?”
“I don’t do anything. I just sit in my room all the time.”
“I have you doing all the activities here, Mom. You don’t just sit. Remember? Looks like you got your nails done.”
“Oh yeah. You know what, Marie?”
“What now?”
“I’m going to write it all down.”
“That’s a good idea. Then you’ll remember.”
“Here, Helen, you can sew this now. You’re doing great stitching!”
“Thank you.”
“Do you like to read, Helen?”
“I love to.”
“What do you like to read?”
“Oh, everything. But I don’t have any books.”
“Oh, didn’t you know they have a library here? We’ll get some books for you.”
“Mom, you don’t need any more books! You have nine-thousand in your room!”
“I do? Show them to me.”
“They are all piled on your night stand. Piles and piles. Nine thousand!”
“Oh.”
“You’ve got plenty to read.”
“Marie, can I come to your house for Thanksgiving?”
“No, Mom, I’m not having Thanksgiving. Bob’s not getting home till after six.”
Sniff. Sniff.
“Why don’t you ever come to see me?”
“Mom, I come here all the time.”
“Why don’t I know any of these people here? Why? Who’s that?”
“Don’t cry, Mom. That’s Thelma.”
“Have I seen you before?”
“I sit behind you in the dining hall.”
“Oh. Who’s that? I know that man.”
“Sure you do, Mom. That’s Jerry.”
“Hi Jerry!”
“Your quilt’s looking great, Helen.”
“Why am I so far behind everyone else? Why didn’t you work on it for me?”
“You’ll catch up. You’re doing well. I’ll pin this for you…”
“Why am I so far behind?”
“You aren’t behind. Look, Arlene is just getting started on her project today.”
“Oh.”
Smile.
“What’s your middle name, Helen?”
“Helen.”
“No, what’s your middle name, your second name?”
“Oh… Jean. Helen Jean. Right, Marie?”
“Jean? Where’d you get that, Mom?”
“I guess I always liked it.”
“Its eleven o’clock. We have to stop now for lunch. We’ll take your project and bring it back next time.”
“When do you come back?”
“In December.”
“A whole month? So long?”
“Yes, we’ll see you then. Good-Bye, Helen.”

“But when He saw the multitudes,

He was moved with compassion on them,

because they fainted, and were scattered abroad,

as sheep having no shepherd…”

Matthew 9:36

~Jenny

Mother & Daughter Bright Lights Harvest Tea

The mother-daughter relationship is so special. We as daughters are exceedingly blessed to have godly mothers and be raised in a Christian home. We are put in our families for a reason. Our family is part of God’s plan and purpose for our lives. Do we believe that? And if so, what are we doing about it?

Our mothers have a lot to offer us! Are we willing to listen to and heed the wisdom of our mothers? From our mother we have the opportunity to learn more than at a dozen universities. They are skilled professors in the areas of child care and education, nutrition, household equipment, hygiene, textiles, housecleaning, family relationships, and interior design. And they live in the same house as us! More importantly, our mothers have a wealth of knowledge from their experience of being a child of God.

Proverbs 6:20 says “My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother.” Girls, do not toss aside this time with our mothers that we have to embrace their law. Instead, take advantage of it. Deuteronomy 5:16 “Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”

I know we all love our mothers. But do we honor them? Do we take every opportunity to be with them? Do we praise them to our friends and siblings? Do we listen to them, obey them? Our mothers have done so much for us. They deserve our honor. Moreover, we are commanded by God to honor them.

Our mothers are given to us as examples. I am blessed to have a mother with the courage of Esther, the servant’s heart of Mary, and the diligence of the Proverbs 31 woman. My mother is my counselor, my teacher, my confidante, my companion and my very dear friend. It is such a blessing to have someone with such wisdom with whom I can share my heart and life with. I am so thankful for the picture I see every morning of my mother reading her Bible and engrossed in the study of God’s Word. I am so thankful to have a mother that prays for me every day. My mother has given me an example of a godly woman that I would be honored to emulate. Heroines of faith live with us everyday. How much we have to be thankful for.

~by Becky Florio