She was rocking back and forth, back and forth, with a woolen blanket covering her knees.
She had a serene look on her face, as if to say, “All is well with the world.” Her room seemed cozy and inviting, with her own beautiful craftwork covering much of the walls. I felt welcome and loved, although I had only met her once before.
Here I was, my 21 years of age against her 95, and I suddenly got the feeling that maybe I didn’t know as much as I thought I did after all.
She was rocking back and forth, back and forth, and her serenity rocked with her.
She did most of the talking, and I did most of the thinking.
“Most people hate it here.”
I’m not surprised.
“I’m completely contented, though. I’ve been here for two years, and I’ve got all that I need.”
Completely contented? But you’ve had to be fed through feeding tubes for the past two years! You’ve outlived all of your friends, and you’re far away from the only family you have. What does complete contentedness even look like?
Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays
“Really, I’ve been blown away by the kindness of friends who come each day and take care of me, and take me to church each Sunday. God has been so good to me, more than I could ever imagine. Living here is not ideal, but I’ve always said, “when the road curves, curve with it.”
My road is already curving, my head is already spinning, and I’m just twenty-one. I can’t fathom how long her road must have been, how many curves she must have been surprised by, how much grace it must have taken to curve with it each time. That makes my head spin even more.
“And God has given me so many opportunities to bless others with the little that I have, like missionaries who need furniture and cookware during their furloughs.”
Amazing that you can support missions even from a rocking chair in a nursing home.
Amazing that you can care so little about your own condition and concern yourself with others instead.
She continued to rock back and forth, back and forth, her peaceful smile lighting up her wrinkled face.
“Yes, God is good. And I have everything I need. What more could I ask for, really?”
My twenty-one years against her ninety-five. I have a long way to go.
As we leave, she hands me and my friend some beautiful cards she has embroidered, and gives me a precious missionary biography she knew I had my eyes on.
I put my hand on the cold, sterile doorknob to turn it, and I pray that someday God will give me the grace to rock back and forth, back and forth, on my own rocking chair and say, “I am contented. I have everything I need. God is good. And that’s all that matters.” And I pray that I will not wait until I am ninety-five to learn this lesson.
Joey Moore, a former missionary kid and recent graduate from The Master’s College in California, teaches first grade bilingual in Mesquite.
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.