{"id":7536,"date":"2017-04-29T07:25:03","date_gmt":"2017-04-29T13:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/?p=7536"},"modified":"2017-04-29T07:29:24","modified_gmt":"2017-04-29T13:29:24","slug":"this-will-prepare-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/2017\/04\/29\/this-will-prepare-you\/","title":{"rendered":"This Will Prepare You \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nIt\u2019s been a year since my ten-year-old daughter and I started visiting \u201cAnnie\u201d<\/a> at the nursing home. Avery felt compelled to \u201cadopt\u201d Annie when she learned she hadn\u2019t had a visitor in years. In the beginning, Annie smiled all the time and shared fond memories of her past. We would take her to Bingo, paint with her, and Avery would sing to her. Now Avery just sings. On a good day, Annie will hum along to her favorite Elvis song. But mostly, she just listens; the music makes her breathe easier.<\/p>\n

I hoped by some small miracle she\u2019d be lucid enough for me to thank her when we visited this week. I wanted to tell her she prepared a little girl to comfort her grandfather in his final days. I\u2019ll never forget how Avery drew close to Grandpa Ben<\/a> although he looked unfamiliar, sick, and in pain. Avery went right up to his bedside with a big smile. Avery was not scared. She was not scared at all.<\/p>\n

She was prepared. And I knew we had Annie to thank for that.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Annie was incoherent when we arrived on Thursday. We ushered her off to a quiet corner of the nursing home and Avery got out her guitar. The first song she played was \u201cYou Alone<\/a>\u201d – the last song her grandfather heard – the song she played at his funeral, so bravely and boldly in a room full of mourners, her voice strong, never wavering. She was prepared.<\/p>\n

As she began to sing to Annie<\/a>, I felt myself becoming emotional. I will never be able to hear that song without crying. But there she was, singing it with a smile and strong enough to be heard over the noise of the nurses\u2019 station. When she was finished, Annie sat up a little straighter and said the only sentence she'd say while we were there. She said, \u201cI love to sing<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n<\/a>I felt satisfied Annie knew why we came \u2013 to thank her. And I think she was thanking us back.<\/p>\n

Annie soon fell asleep and Avery suggested we visit the woman who our cat Paisley curled up with on Pet Day recently<\/a>. When we stepped into Mama J\u2019s room, she smiled so wide that all her teeth showed. She remembered us and our \u201clittle lamb\u201d that comforted her that day. She was delighted to see Avery had a guitar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you like me to play for you?\u201d Avery asked. Mama J nodded enthusiastically.<\/p>\n

As Avery played her grandpa\u2019s song, I could see Mama J\u2019s astonishment, her tears, her joy, her disbelief.<\/p>\n

When Avery finished, Mama J explained that she\u2019d been feeling blue all day and had looked for a song on the television to comfort her. \u201cAnd just look what came through the door! A beautiful child prepared with a song to lift this 96-year-old woman\u2019s heart! Don\u2019t anybody tell me God don\u2019t answer prayers!\u201d she exclaimed.<\/p>\n

Prepared<\/em><\/h4>\n

She used that word. \u00a0And then she said, \u201cTell your people about this<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think she means you.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019ve thought long and hard about what this means for you, and I think it is this:<\/p>\n

When forced to go outside your comfort zone,
\nWhen faced with questions that have no easy answers,
\nWhen given a story you didn\u2019t ask for,
\nWhen met a battle you never wanted to fight,<\/p>\n

Instead of saying things like,<\/p>\n

I am suffering.
\n<\/em>I am being punished.
\n<\/em>I am sick and tired of this.<\/em><\/p>\n

Say this instead:<\/p>\n

I am preparing.<\/em><\/h2>\n

I am preparing to serve an important purpose.<\/em><\/h2>\n

And perhaps one day, you\u2019ll walk right up to something scary, sad, and unfamiliar and you\u2019ll know just what to do. With a voice brave and strong, you\u2019ll deliver a message no one else can deliver. And to those who hear it, it will sound like an anthem of hope, an answered prayer, a blanket of comfort.<\/p>\n

Thank you for preparing for that moment.<\/p>\n

Something tells me it will be glorious.<\/p>\n