Ask the Lord Part 2, AKA, Gratitude

Back in February, I posted about a precious saint named Peggy who, while confused about many things, remains doggedly single-minded in her devotion to the Lord. On a recent visit to her home, I caught sight of the following scrap of paper:

Peggy had scrawled this message in huge letters, as she does all her notes to the Almighty. As is also her custom, she emphasized its contents by over-writing each letter numerous times. 

Most of my readers would wonder what this impoverished woman has to be so grateful for. Her funds are negligible, and her health is as one would expect for an 80-something year old with very few resources. While Peggy manages to zip around rather spryly with her walker, she is hindered by a substantial hump on her back which alters both appearance and balance.

And yet this lady is praising the Lord.

One reason Peggy has to be thankful can be attributed to the assistance she receives from Attentive Home Care, a division of Multicultural Community Family Services, a community-based-not-for-profit-tax-exempt organization in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. I attend church with the co-founders of this organization, Portia and Gore Kamara, and they are as committed to the well-being of their clients as they are to their own family.

My visits to Peggy are always unannounced, yet both she and her surroundings are always spotless. Her caregivers are consistently kind and, as the organization's name proclaims, attentive. They tenderly meet Peggy's needs, always with a smile, despite the fact that her mental confusion can render her behavior very erratic.

Somewhere along the line, the Kamaras have instilled in their staff the meaning of the following Scripture from Matthew 25: 

 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’" (vv. 31-40)

My friend, Peggy, is the fortunate recipient of Attentive Home Care's loving ministrations, and as such, she has every reason to thank the Lord. She would attribute her happiness to her status as a daughter of Christ; Portia, Gore and their staff serve as His willing vessels.