A Reason To Be
While visiting my mother at the nursing home this week, I noticed a woman in a wheelchair who was following after one of the aides as she walked down the hallway.
"What needs to be done?" she asked the aide. "Do you need me to make the beds or wash the dishes? I can help. I want to help."
"No, the beds are all made, and we have somebody here to do the dishes. You don't have to worry about that here."
"But I need to have something to do. I can do something to help out around here. I need something to do."
"Well, I'll have to see if I can find something for you then," the aide replied.
I don't know if the aide found something for her to do, or what it was if she did, but I hope she kept her word to the woman in the wheelchair.
We all need to feel as if we are useful, that we have a purpose, that we can contribute.
I saw this photo of a candle in a broken water jug, and it reminded me of that woman in the wheelchair. Although the woman is no longer able to move about as she once did, she can still do things with her hands. There are things that she can still do to make the world a better place, even if it is only in her little corner of it.
In the same way, the water pitcher in the photo above is broken and no longer useful to carry water, but it can serve another purpose. With part of the pottery broken away, it has now become a lamp. A candle tucked inside of it gives off light. Perhaps it is there in the window to welcome home a loved one, to help them find their way.
As I grow older and find that there are things I can no longer do, I hope I can discover other ways to let my light shine through.
Matthew 5:13-16: "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
