A family facing loss

Helping One Person Will Not Change The World

Our neighbors know that things are rough for us financially, so they save their recycling and pass it on to me so I can turn it in for a little money. I have always been grateful for that but never as much as I was on Friday.

Despite shyness and the small amount of time before I needed to help mom elsewhere, I decided to see if she had some recyclables she wanted me to take. She said yes and I imagined we would meet on the porch as we have in the past but this time she was still inside when I arrived. I got to say hello to her mom who is such a kind soul with the sweetest smile! She was doing very poorly and suddenly, I kicked into hospice volunteer mode (I started volunteering in the nursing homes 13 years ago so have lots of experience) and while it was hard emotionally, I sang 3 hymns to her before I had to leave. It was neat to see the impact it had on her daughter. I asked if it was okay to come back after helping mom and she said of course!

Mom is extremely awesome and although I was a little late she was so understanding when I explained the reason! My brother also waited patiently for me while I was in the neighbor’s house.

When I got back home, I went back and sang some more, read some scriptures and made sure to spend time with both of them individually. The daughter was so kind and wanted to make me feel as comfortable as possible! She even let me work on a jigsaw puzzle for the first time in years!! The puzzle pales in comparison to the two greatest highlights: sharing a bit of ice cream with her, in a late celebration of our birthdays. We were both born in the same month, and the year I turned 30 she turned 90, so we decided back then we had to at some point celebrate our birthdays! So this last time was extra special, even though she was very tired.

The other is when I leaned over to tell her something and she started stroking my face for a few minutes. WOW!!! super powerful! That is definitely an unexpected blessing! I can’t even explain the feeling, but WOW! What makes me extra grateful for all of this is that it took place on the anniversary of my dad’s funeral which I had been dreading.

I am so glad I had the strength to minister to a family facing loss and saying goodbye. – Susi

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