It was a normal work day meeting with an administrator of
one of our nursing homes to discuss strategies to grow the business. A family member noticed the door open and
came in to tell Becca, the administrator, hello. I was introduced to the daughter and Frances. Frances was one of our Residents at the
nursing home. I exchanged pleasantries
then I bent down to say hello to the Resident who was in a wheelchair. She had her head down and was softly sobbing.
When I inquired as to why Frances was crying, she began to
cry even harder. Her daughter explained
that she desperately missed her home.
Then Frances spoke up, “Why can’t I at least see my home. I miss it so much.”
Becca did a great job trying to distract the Frances
explaining how she used to work with her daughter. She also mentioned all the fun things the
facility does for the holiday season.
Becca was trying anything to help take France’s mind off her home without
any luck. Over and over Frances kept
saying, “I miss my home. Please just let
me see my home.”
Becca and I mentioned to the daughter that she should take
her mom for a ride. They could drive
past the old neighborhood and Frances could look at home at least from the
outside. The daughter appreciated the
suggestion but felt that would just make it harder on her mom since she
couldn’t actually go inside and stay.
The daughter finally convinced Frances to head outside with her and they
would take a walk around the facility.
I said goodbye to the
daughter then leaned down to give Frances a hug. The sadness in her eyes is something I will
never forget. I knew the one thing the
Resident wanted she would never have again, her home.
It was difficult to concentrate the rest of the afternoon as
thoughts of Frances weighed heavy on my heart.
I also thought about my Thanksgiving trip coming up and how I would be
home in just another week. What a
blessing I have been given to have two homes, one in Indianapolis and one back
in Alabama!
What if, like the Resident, we never got to go home
again? What if home wasn’t where we got
to spend our holidays at all? What if we
spent the holidays fighting for freedom on foreign soil or spreading God’s word
to an impoverished country or we were sick and hospitalized or we were destined
to spend our last days in the nursing home? Or what if we didn’t have a home at
all and lived on the streets?
Frances was a strong reminder that not everyone is as
blessed with the comforts of home during the holiday season. And our holidays shouldn’t be just about
giving gifts but celebrating the blessings God has given us … family, good friends, health , and of course
home.
May you celebrate the joys of the holiday season with those
you love and in the comforts of a place you are blessed to have …. HOME!