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Years ago, when my children
were small, I needed to drive daily past an elderly woman’s house. She lived
on our busy 14th street, so it was, I saw her working in her yard on a daily
basis. All the other houses along the street had nicely mown yards but hers
was a place to stand out. When I first noticed she was not a young woman and
as the days and years went by rather than a robust, gray-haired lady she
became more frail and thinner; nevertheless, she continued. Her dedication
to that work was an inspiration as I toiled with my own grinding battle to
see my children educated, while being clean, and having good diets.
And then, one day, when one
of my children was in high school I saw a “For-sale” sign on the lady’s
yard. Later, as chance would have it, I was driving by when I saw grown
children with the elderly woman. They were loading her along with luggage
into the car. The tiny, frail person was stepping back and forth from her
things as if she was checking to see if everything was there. Just for a
moment she stopped and looked up, squarely at me. We didn’t know each other
so how could she wave to me. For a bit, I felt remorse to think I had never
stopped for a moment from my busy schedule just to say hello and visit for a
while.
“ Never mind,” she seemed to
be saying, “We’ll meet another time.”
Today, as I drive by her old
home the yard is as clean and neat as all others. However, there are no
flowers, no diligent little woman happily working while never being bothered
with the busy traffic of her street. If she had been there, her
concentration would have been unbroken as she arranged pots, pulled weeds,
or dug to transplant.
Certainly, her spirit remains
as an example. No matter how small a task, if the will is there to do it
well; the effort will inspire someone. I often wonder, “How many others
appreciated her work?”
Recently, for my part, I
received a wonderful letter from a woman on my email list and I want to
share a portion of it with you because it gave me so much encouragement to
continue my two hours a day for community, self-appointed service, here at
the computer because of the circumstances in which I live.
Here is the note:
“We are quickly entering the
New Year and what it brings only God knows. I pray that your life that of
all your family will be blessed with good health, prosperity, (otherwise
known as wealth), and much more happiness. Your contribution to others this
year has been a positive force in making their lives happy and I wish for
you the best of everything in yours. God bless your authorship of the
stories that have meant so much to those who’ve gone on and to family and
friends who are reading them now. I’ve so enjoyed all the words and stories
of your family, both past and present. Especially, the courage of Donna and
her survival as such a very special daughter and mother has been a beautiful
encouragement to others.
I don’t know if I ever told
you of the beautiful letter she wrote to me. It was full of love and
tenderness for you, and the pride which she felt at being your daughter.”
I told my family, “I’m
printing this letter off, enlarging it, framing it to hang over my kitchen
sink. It is just the thing I will need as I go into the next year, a bit
more frail, as my elderly neighbor was, but hopefully bolstered up from the
love shown in this thank you note.”
So too, let me remind anyone
who has taken the moment to read this lengthy tribute to the last day of
2006. No matter how grinding, how trial peppered your work is, there will be
someone who is looking on,
who will be inspired by your own efforts, just as I was inspired by the
lonely but happy work of the little woman in the small space of her back
yard. |
