We never know what each day will hold. A mystery awaits us as we arise from bed engaging the morning. Some days are full of joy, happiness, and elation. Others seem fairly routine with nothing significant. Then there are days that culminate with sadness or disappointment.
Wednesday afternoon, we received news one of our beloved homeowners with whom we had worked so hard, passed way suddenly. Filled with shock and sadness, my heart sank. Ms. Morris lived in Tuskegee in between the church and the parsonage. The survivor of a Navy veteran who passed away last year, she was very special to us. Mission teams accomplished significant progress in her home greatly improving her quality of life. Ms. Morris used a motorized scooter to navigate through her home.
We re-roofed her home and tore out her kitchen floor which was sinking and in perilous danger of collapse. Her only working tub was cast iron and free standing. Now using a scooter, it was unusable, and she mostly used it to rinse out her clothes. Imagine her excitement when we installed a walk-in tub!
I thoroughly enjoyed praying with and for Ms. Morris. She prayed with our teams and readily shared her story. Active in her church, she assisted with their fundraisers and events. We also made mistakes. Like the time we did not plug in her refrigerator correctly after moving it. This caused all meat to go bad which included venison. Ms. Morris was feisty and gave us an earful for that mishap. Going to my stepdad to ask him if he had any spare deer meat was truly humbling but I think he was somehow glad to help. Ms. Morris was extremely grateful!
Finally, Ms. Morris is the sister of Ms. Turk who we are highlighting during our Sweet Homes for Alabama Campaign. It puts a damper on our moment but is the reality of working with older families with chronic health issues. It is quite simply the parts of life that we know are coming but shatter our day when they come.
I did not expect that day to have an edge of sadness. Disappointment lingered the rest of the afternoon and the sense of loss filtered into the evening. Even now, we are making plans to attend her funeral and share in the saying of “goodbyes” and “so longs” with our friends and family.
In this, we realize hope still abounds. Ms. Morris is free from pain and sickness. She is no longer in a scooter worried about leaking roofs and unstable floors. The last several months she was surrounded by people who loved her from near and afar. I guess that is what Kingdom is like. I hope you will take some time and pray for her sisters, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren. Pray for her friends. Pray for us.
You never know what the day will bring but you can always carry love into it.
Grace and peace,
lisa
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