We spoke some more, and she told me that she had the beginnings of Alzheimer's. That really stunned me--not that she had it, but that she was so absolutely blasé about it. She might just have well have said that she had a cold! I listened while she told me how her life was changing: the manager had taken her stove away, since she could not be expected to remember not to use it lest she catch the house on fire. She was going to have to have modifications made to her apartment, some because of her disability now, some because of what will happen eventually. Through it all, she seemed calm and accepting.
I couldn't let it go. I asked her how it was that she seemed so okay with this. She said, "When I was twelve, they found out that I had a tumor in the middle of my brain. Nobody knew if I would live, and I didn't know if I wanted to. They told me that I wouldn't make it past a year. I survived, that, and I'm grateful for every day that I've had since.
Putting it into perspective. We tend to dwell on our own issues, our own defeats, our own sorrow. Sometimes it takes witnessing another's burden to let you see that yours, though not insignificant, is still not as bad as it could be.
On this Memorial Day, please take a moment to pray for someone whose burden is making it difficult for them. If you don't know of anyone, think about the servicemen who are out in foreign lands serving far from home. Think about the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. I assure you, praying for these people will put your own burdens well into perspective--at least it did for me.
God bless you today and always.