Lady in the Nursing Home

While attending the Willowdale Seventh-day Adventist Church, the “young people” had weekly “Sunshine Bands” where we’d go to a nearby nursing home on Sabbath afternoons and sing to the residents. I remember a German women who had lost her leg. During our first visit, I found her to be bitter, cranky and scary, but our group agreed that we would try to make a positive difference in her life. We continued to step out of our comfort zone and sought her out each Sabbath, just to bring her a small token of our love—a bookmark, a flower, a song. Over time, the staff commented that the woman looked forward to our weekly visits and the staff noticed that she had become a tenderhearted woman, kinder to the them and the other residents.

As a high school student I learned of the power we have to make a difference.