The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully
dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably
coifed
and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved
to
a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away,
making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing
home,
she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had
been
hung on her window. "I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an
eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room ... just wait."
"That doesn't
have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something
you
decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend
on
how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind.
I already decided to love it ... "It's a decision I make every
morning
when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed
recounting
the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work,
or
get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a
gift,
and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the
happy
memories I've stored away ... just for this time in my life.
Old age is like a bank account ... you withdraw from what you've put
in
.. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the
bank account of memories.
________________________________________
Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
No one can go back and make a brand new start.
Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.
God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun
without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for
the
tears, and light for the way.
Disappointments are like road bumps, they slow you down a bit but you
enjoy the smooth road afterwards.
Don't stay on the bumps too long. Move on!
When you feel down because you didn't get what you want, just sit
tight
and be happy, because God has thought of something better to give
you.
When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it means.
There's a purpose to life's events, to teach you how to laugh more or
not to cry too hard.
You can't make someone love you, all you can do is be someone who can
be
loved, the rest is up to the person to realize your worth.
It's better to lose your pride to the one you love, than to lose the
one
you love because of pride.
We spend too much time looking for the right person to love or
finding
fault with those we already love, when instead we should be
perfecting
the love we give.
Never abandon an old friend. You will never find one who can take his
place. Friendship is like wine, it gets better as it grows older.
May today there be peace within you. May you trust God that you are
exactly where you are meant to be. "I believe that friends are quiet
angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble
remembering
how to fly."
-- Author Unknown.
--Selected from God@Work newsletter. God@Work is a ministry of St Mark's United Methodist Church, 8550 Pioneers Blvd., Lincoln Nebraska 68520 U.S.A.
A Fun, Faith 'n Funny Bone Feature 
