Small Talk with a Special Friend

Leviticus 19:32 (NIV) - Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.


1 Timothy 5:1-2 (NIV) - Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

When I was young I worked part time for a pharmacy.

One of my duties was running the daily delivery route.

Along with making deliveries to private residences, I also had to make deliveries to all the local nursing homes on a daily basis.

One of the memories that I carry from those days I will always cherish.

It involved a particular resident at one of the nursing homes and the conversation I had with her.

Perhaps conversations would be the better word.

I met her when she became a new resident at one of the nursing homes I visited daily.

I dropped off the day’s delivery at the Nurses’ Station and found her seated nearby.

I realized she was a new resident because I had not seen her there before.

She said hello and I responded in kind.

She then asked me to guess her age which under normal circumstances is a very dangerous game for a man to play.

In this particular case, I intentionally underestimated by a few decades.

She broke out in a big smile and then told me her actual age.

She then spoke about what things were like when she was a little girl those many decades ago.

I listened to her for as many minutes as I could spare without getting into trouble with my employer.

I excused myself and told her I that I enjoyed our visit.

I then told her I looked forward to our next visit.

We exchanged smiles and I left to continue my deliveries.

I returned the next day and found her seated in the same chair.

After I made the delivery, I approached her.

We had the exact same conversation as the day before.

I realized that she neither remembered me nor the conversation we had a mere 24 hours before.

That is the way it continued each and every day that I came by.

I am glad I was able to spend a few minutes with her each day in this way even if she would not be able to remember it, or me.

I am glad I was able to provide her with a few brief moments of happiness every day.

Scripture, such as the verses I opened with, reminds us how we are to treat the elderly.

We are to treat them with respect.

We are to be a source of encouragement to them.

We are to treat them as if they were our own parents.

When we do, two things happen.

First, we please God.

Second, we make some really special memories.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, November 9, 2012.
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I’ll be back here on Friday, November 16, 2012.
Schedule subject to change.