Today as I was working, one of the older ladies from our congregation came in. She was in need of a ride to the bank. She is definitely a more haggard looking woman and isn't very clean. She has a son that lives with her but he doesn't take care of her. We don't know if she eats and bathes regularly...she is in need of a lot of help. She had walked from her home to the church to look for a ride since the bank was too far. Several of the staff were gone to lunch and the pastor came in and asked if I would take her. Deep down in my heart I was hoping he would take her. I didn't know this woman and to be honest I was a little afraid of having her in my car. I know that wasn't a right attitude to have at the moment but that soon changed. We got to my car and I had to help her in as she was rather frail. As we rode to the bank we had conversation about her life. I found out that after we were done with the bank, I needed to take her home. Since I am fairly new to the area, I had no idea where the road was that she lived on! So here we were, a woman who is loosing her mental capabilities and a woman who had no idea where she was going! We really took the scenic route but after several minutes we found her home. I went around the side to her door to help her out of the car. She just laughed and apologized for the run around and thanked me for taking her. It was then she reached over and hugged me. At that moment I forgot that she was frail and unclean. I hugged her back. I left with a smile on my face and a real blessing in my heart. That incident reminded me of something. We have a choice to react to each and every situation that we are faced with every day. Initially I wasn't too thrilled with having to take her to the bank but as I took the time to listen to her and enjoy getting lost with her I remembered that she is God's creation just like I am. God loves her just as much as He loves me and I should love her as He does. What a lesson! I went back to work feeling extremely touched and blessed by the unexpected car ride.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
a difference a hug can make
Today as I was working, one of the older ladies from our congregation came in. She was in need of a ride to the bank. She is definitely a more haggard looking woman and isn't very clean. She has a son that lives with her but he doesn't take care of her. We don't know if she eats and bathes regularly...she is in need of a lot of help. She had walked from her home to the church to look for a ride since the bank was too far. Several of the staff were gone to lunch and the pastor came in and asked if I would take her. Deep down in my heart I was hoping he would take her. I didn't know this woman and to be honest I was a little afraid of having her in my car. I know that wasn't a right attitude to have at the moment but that soon changed. We got to my car and I had to help her in as she was rather frail. As we rode to the bank we had conversation about her life. I found out that after we were done with the bank, I needed to take her home. Since I am fairly new to the area, I had no idea where the road was that she lived on! So here we were, a woman who is loosing her mental capabilities and a woman who had no idea where she was going! We really took the scenic route but after several minutes we found her home. I went around the side to her door to help her out of the car. She just laughed and apologized for the run around and thanked me for taking her. It was then she reached over and hugged me. At that moment I forgot that she was frail and unclean. I hugged her back. I left with a smile on my face and a real blessing in my heart. That incident reminded me of something. We have a choice to react to each and every situation that we are faced with every day. Initially I wasn't too thrilled with having to take her to the bank but as I took the time to listen to her and enjoy getting lost with her I remembered that she is God's creation just like I am. God loves her just as much as He loves me and I should love her as He does. What a lesson! I went back to work feeling extremely touched and blessed by the unexpected car ride.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment