Surprise Someone and Encourage: 40acts Days #17 and #18

My grandma is in the hospital.  She fell at home and fractured her pelvis…again.   The last time she did that she was carrying something to her car and fell on the steps of her front porch.   My grandma lives in the boonies of northern Ontario.  Her nearest neighbour is miles down the road and her house is concealed from the main road by brush.  Knowing that she couldn’t just lay there on the ground, she crawled a few meters to her car, got in the driver’s seat and somehow managed to drive herself to the nearest town 15 minutes away.  She turned onto the road where her sister-in-law lived, went over the curb onto the front lawn and the laid on the horn until my Great Aunt and Uncle came out to see what the lady in their front yard was doing.

The X-Rays revealed Grandma had broken her pelvis.

This time she was putting wood into her wood furnace in the basement when she tripped over a piece of cardboard and fell onto the concrete floor.  That’s all it took and she is in hospital again.

It’s hard being such a long distance from family, especially when things like this happen.  Westminster United Church has a wonderful prayer shawl ministry.  Beautiful, handmade prayer shawls are knit and given to people who may need that extra bit of encouragement.  The prayer shawls wrap people in warmth as a reminder of the embracing love of God and the care and supportive of this community of faith.  I asked the woman who organizes the prayer shawls, if it might be possible to give one to my grandma.  Without hesitating Shirley said, “Absolutely.”  She made a special trip to the church to choose one specifically for Grandma.  It was beautiful—warm neutral tones, soft to the touch, cozy and light on the lap.  Perfect!

My dad is heading up north to look after some things for Grandma.  So I sat down and wrote her a letter to accompany the prayer shawl.  I wanted her to know how important she is to all of us, and that we were thinking of her.  This is something that faith communities can offer one another:  presence in spite of distance.  Even though Grandma is an 8 hour drive away, I hope she knows that she is always close in heart.  I hope that when she uses the prayer shawl she is reminded of all the love and encouragement that surrounds her…even by people she has never met.