Gifted

Before Easter I went to see one of our elderly members who is having a tough time with his health. For the past year he has experienced one problem after another, and shuffled from one specialist to the next. Each one seems to have a different idea of what plagues him but the outcome is that he just hasn't got better. Not surprisingly, this has knocked the mickey (who was mickey?) out of a guy who has been strong and confident through the years.

We talked and talked some more and then I prayed because there is no way he would let me away without a prayer at any time. This occasion was a little more emotional for him, but I certainly understood why.

The remarkable moment came as I was about to get up. He mentioned that he had been to one of the big drugstores to get one of the many prescriptions he now has filled, and noticed that he had accumulated a lot of points which could be redeemed for "stuff." Could I ask my wife Ruth if it was alright for him to buy gift cards to be used by women at Bethesda House, the shelter for which she works. I explained that this would be a kind gesture because there is no funding for items such as toiletries and makeup. Sure enough, he passed along $90 worth of cards to be used as the recipients saw fit.

What a splendid human being. He was "lower than a snake's bunion" to use an old expression, but he was still thinking of others. His sense of social responsibility and generosity are rooted in a quiet but strong Christian faith. The gift was one more reason I really like him.

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