Patricia had been praying for the well-being of the sons who abandoned her and hoped to see them again. Instead, someone else shows up with an intention to turn her life around.<\/p>\n
The attendants at St. Johns Nursing Home said that Patricia\u2019s speaking voice was too soft. But she knew that God could hear her.<\/p>\n
It had been five years since Patricia Glenn had been living at the nursing home \u2013 five years since her son dropped her off and left without saying goodbye. That feeling of the unreturned hug as she stood in the cold with open arms still hurt in her chest.Patricia was different back then.<\/p>\n
She was angrier, more demanding of answers, and more at odds with her own fate. She couldn\u2019t believe she had been cut off so quickly, and she dreamed of the day that her three sons would come running back to her.<\/p>\n
But that was Patricia five years ago. With time, her anger and disdain had softened to a sense of surrender. Her body was getting more fragile, and her digestion was getting weaker. But her faith and belief had grown stronger beyond bounds.Of course, there was still a pain in her eyes.<\/p>\n
But ever since she rekindled her relationship with her personal God again, her darkness turned to light. She would read day in and day out and speak to every plant and rock as if they were having a conversation. Soon, the other residents started to flock around her, waiting to share their troubles and grief.<\/p>\n
They would wait to speak with her, knowing that her words came from a deeply inspired place and that they would soothe their souls. Treat your elders with respect and kindness \u2013 you will never know what they have been through.They didn\u2019t know that every night in the last five years, Patricia would sit alone by the window and let her pain flow out in tears.Even though all of their love soothed Patricia\u2019s heart, the painful memories would still haunt her at times. She would often wake up in the middle of the night, remembering the last big fight between her sons and herself.<\/p>\n
The hurtful words they said to her would replay in her mind. \u201cWhy are you so adamant about withholding the will? Do you think you are going to live forever?\u201d \u201cYou are the most selfish woman I have ever met!\u201d \u201cI wasted my youth cleaning up after you. I wish I knew I would get nothing for it!\u201d She recollected how dizzy and ill she was in the hospital bed that night and how the staff had to step in and ask her sons to step out.A cold breeze shook Patricia back to the present moment.<\/p>\n
She lay in bed, closed her eyes, and repeated the same prayer she had said every night: \u201cDear God. Keep my sons and their families in your loving care. I forgive them. I love them. If you can, send them my way. Or even better, take me away to them.\u201d Somewhere along the night, Patricia felt like a warm hand was caressing her forehead. \u201cIt must be God,\u201d she thought, half asleep. But then, she heard a sweet voice whispering: I\u2019ll take you away!\u201d Patricia opened her eyes, and it took a few moments for her to believe what she saw. \u201cAmber\u2026is that you?\u201d \u201cIt IS me, grandma. I\u2019ve come to take you away.\u201dAmber was the daughter of Patricia\u2019s eldest son, David.<\/p>\n
While David hadn\u2019t visited or called in the last five years, it was Amber and her younger brother Jacob who had kept in touch with her. Patricia couldn\u2019t take her eyes off her beautiful granddaughter. \u201cOh, how my baby has grown!\u201d Amber held her grandmother\u2019s hands tightly and said: \u201cYou\u2019ve had me so worried, grandma. Why did you stop writing back to me?\u201d Patricia was confused. She had wondered why Amber stopped sending her letters last year. She assumed she had gotten too busy to write.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still wrote to me?\u201d \u201cOf course I did!\u201d Patricia then realized that many other residents had similar complaints last year. Just like their mail, Amber\u2019s letters had probably been misrouted to the Florida branch of the nursing home.\u201dI had to come and see you for myself. And I do not like this place one bit. This entire premises should be marked an architectural safety hazard.\u201d Amber was right. The nursing home was becoming more and more unlivable with time. The walls were leaking, and there was a damp smell that only visitors weren\u2019t too numb to miss.<\/p>\n
That night, Amber drove Patricia to her new apartment in the city. \u201cThis is a modest home, grandma, unlike the palatial family home you and grandpa built. But I promise I\u2019ll ensure you have everything you need here.\u201d Patricia was reminded of the home and the business empire she had built with her departed husband, Frank.\u201dThis is more than enough, Amber. I still do not know why you are taking the trouble. I will probably be a burden around the house.\u201d \u201cNot at all. I cannot imagine what you have been through in the last five years. And now, I need you here, not because I feel sorry for you. I need you here because my mother can\u2019t be here.<\/p>\n
And you\u2019ve always taken her place in my heart.\u201d Amber had lost her mother, Tracey, when she was just a little girl. Looking at Amber now, she looked just like Tracey. \u201cJust because I\u2019m going to be a doctor soon doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t need a mother to run to with all my problems.\u201d \u201cAnd to oil my hair every week, of course.\u201d Amber smiled, pulling her grandmother\u2019s skinny cheeks. The two women spent the rest of the day chatting away on the balcony of the apartment, sipping tea and thinking of sweet old memories. Patricia hadn\u2019t been this relaxed in a long time.<\/p>\n
A week passed in Patricia\u2019s new life, and she finally decided to make a decision. She called Amber and said, \u201cDarling, I will be getting my will made soon. I would like you and Jacob to have all of it \u2013 including the ancestral home you love so much. Only you value it enough to take care of it.\u201d Amber didn\u2019t let her grandmother finish. \u201cI can\u2019t, grandma. I don\u2019t want the house. I love it too much to make it my own. \u201cBut if you really want to give the house to someone who will value it, I have an idea.\u201d Patricia heard the idea and loved it. Towards the end of the year, Amber and Patricia were standing in front of the ancestral home. It looked exactly the same, except a giant board read: \u201cLove & Light \u2013 Kind Homes for Assisted Living.What can we learn from this story? Faith can get you through the darkest of times. For Patricia, finding faith through God helped her rise above her past without bitterness or hate. Whether in a personal God, in the Universe, or in one\u2019s self, finding faith and holding on to it can help overcome the most challenging phases of life. Treat your elders with respect and kindness \u2013 you will never know what they have been through. Amber gave her grandmother a sense of dignity and love that she had forgotten. When she had the option, she chose to give back to the elderly community rather than inherit wealth for herself. Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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