Nursing homes are filled with the wisdom of the ages.
All one needs, is to listen.
My Mom worked in a nursing home and I visited with the old folks watching the news before it was the time of day that my babysitter would take me. In addition to wheel chair races, I learned to feel very comfortable and respect the words, stories and wisdom of the people.
I worked in a nursing home through high school and college. During the months that I was pregnant with my first son; it was the ladies at the home that gave me all of the advice anyone would ever want. They listened to my fears and hopes and eventually held my baby shower. Knitted and crocheted baby blankets still fill my hope chest from those precious ladies.
Even the disconnected ramblings of a mind wearing down with age, if listened to carefully, carries a depth of knowledge that is missing from our face book world.
Listen. The wisdom and depth of strength and character of these precious folks is fading away quickly.
Today, at the nursing home service, I was blessed. A ninety one year old woman sat beside me in church. She was singing at the top of her lungs with a fire leaping out of her eyes. She asked if she could give her testimony. So we all bent close and listened quietly.
She told of her Dad and Mom taking the kids nine miles every week to church...even in winter. An old cow hide that her Dad had tanned and rocks that her Mother had heated through the night kept them warm.
She was nine years old when she gave her heart to Jesus. With a voice of authority that humbled me, she said to the listening room...if you want to enjoy life eternal tomorrow then you have to get your life right today. She shared with us the joy of living for God. She prays for her children and her children's children. She prays for the staff and for the residents.
Although she is homesick, she said, "I want to live for Him here."
Taking children to visit nursing homes is a gift for the older people but is also a gift to future generations.
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