Читать книгу Hope’s Daughters - R. Wayne Willis - Страница 17

She died the way most of us hope to die—full of years, at home, lucid, with family members responding to her every physical and emotional need. One of her sons, when he served her orange juice on her last mornings, said that she would take a sip, smile, and exclaim, “This tastes so good!” When he adjusted the pillow under her feet, she smiled and thanked him, “That feels so good!” When he opened drapes to let in light, she broke into song, channeling John Denver’s “Sunshine on my Shoulders.”

Survivor of four heart surgeries stemming from rheumatic fever in childhood, this retired kindergarten teacher poured undying devotion and energy into helping the poor. She taught immigrants English as a second language, helped the homeless and ex-convicts find housing, and often invited them into her home for a meal.

When she died, the family discovered a personal manifesto that she had adopted years earlier, typed on red construction paper and taped inside the front opening of her Bible:

Because the world is poor and starving, go with bread. Because the world is filled with fear, go with courage. Because the world is filled with despair, go with hope. Because the world is filled with lies, go with truth. Because the world is sick with sorrow, go with joy. Because the world is weary of wars, go with peace. Because the world is seldom fair, go with justice. Because the world is under judgment, go with mercy. Because the world will die without it, go with love.6

She left her minister a final charge to be read to any who might attend her memorial service: “If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind word or deed to someone who needs you.”

May we inherit her light.