Lost and Found
by Wilma White

I married young and foolishly, and divorced when my sons were young.  My
ex-husband is a disabled VietNam vet who suffers from PTSD and
self-medicates with alcohol and drugs.  One of our sons has written him off
and will have no contact with him until he goes into rehab.  The other son 
stays in touch, especially since Nana (his father's 87 year old
mother) lived with his dad.  Recently, he noticed that Nana was not well
cared for.  Her son was never home so she was left alone a lot, she was not
very clean, and there was no fresh food in the house.  So, last weekend
my son and his wife picked up Nana and her things and drove her back
to their house a couple of hours away.  My daugher-in-law says she's been eating
non-stop since she got there.

The first night Nana was with them, my daugher-in-law heard her wake up in the middle of
the night and went to check on her and sat with her for a while.  She told
me about their conversation:
Nana:    Do you believe in God?
Daugher-in-law:    Of course I do.
Nana:    Well, I had a nightmare just before I woke up.  I dreamed I was
hungry and there was no food in the house.  I was so hungry, and I didn't
know how I could get anything to eat, and I was afraid.  I prayed to God,
and asked him if he would send someone to help me.  And then when I opened
my eyes you were here.  Thank you for helping me.
Daugher-in-law:    You're welcome, but I think we need to thank God.
Then Nana broke down in tears, and my daugher-in-law followed suit, and they sat there
holding each other in the dark of the night, thanking God.

(Comments to Wilma at wilma825@sbcglobal.net.)
First Congregational Church of Santa Ana
United Church of Christ
http://www.firstchurchsa.org/