On Valentine’s Day, as it has been our church’s tradition for the past several years, we went out and visited many nursing homes and shelters. Ulia shares a story from her visit:
Eileen and I were really encouraged by Mrs. J from Texas. She has no living relatives, and she doesn’t have any children because she was never married. She is unable to walk because of an injured leg. She grew up in the church. We told her we’re from a local church here to celebrate Valentine’s Day by sharing God’s love with her, and gave her the sugar-free cookies we had baked. She slowly read the card aloud – “God is love … Happy Valentine’s Day from your friends at Gracepoint.” She was grateful for the gift, and held onto it for a long time, throughout the time we were talking with her. She said that she is sure that throughout the 80 years of her life God has been watching over her, and repeated that often throughout our conversation. Because she lives at the nursing home, she hasn’t gone to church in a long time, she said. But it was pretty evident to me and Eileen that her confidence and peace in God were real in her heart. Eileen asked if she had a Bible; she did—but she hasn’t read it because her vision is getting worse. But since she was able to read our card, we offered to visit her again and bring a large print Bible—and she was really pleased to hear that. At the end of the conversation we could tell she was really looking forward to receiving that Bible. Before we left, she looked at the wrapped cookie gift in her hand again and said, “Well, it looks like I have my Valentine.” The short time we spent with her was sweet and encouraging.
