The old lady places her shawl on the top of the bed table and opens the door below.

She removes two brightly colored doilies that she painfully knitted over the course of two weeks. She holds them with long fingers gnarled and slowed with age.

She made them for the redheaded girl who comes to clean her room. She has come to anticipate the sounds of her cleaning cart coming down the hall as she stops at every room and does her duty. She is very friendly and the old lady loves to hear her talk of her little girl and her life as she bustles around the room making the bed and cleaning the floor. They have a special relationship these two and the old lady loves to talk of times past and things done.

She loves the way her stories fall on rapt ears and the way she feels when the girl sits down just to listen to her and her tales of past days . The ghosts of memory come with these visits also and they leave there little stamps of love and longing but she would never change a thing.

These daily meetings with this girl have given her a way to bring lost friends and family to life with the stories she tells her. She can tell of loves lost and lives changed. They exchange secrets and tips and when something happens she can’t wait to tell her special friend.

So for all this she gives her the only thing she can to show her how much all this means. She’s lovingly made every stitch as her mind paints memories of past times and peoples.

“I hope you like them …” she says uncertainly as she hands the doilies over with shaking hands.

The girl is choked up as she says “of course I do silly.”

Tears well up in her eyes as she can see the obvious effort it must have taken the old girl to make these beautiful colored pieces with her terrible arthritis.

To herself she thinks that this is what makes her job so worthwhile to her. These beautiful people have learned life’s lessons and now carry their souls with a calm quiet dignity that she could only wait for time to teach her.

The bonds she makes with all these wonderful people are however much too short and her heart breaks as old friends move on and new friends enter. Still she cleans and moves on to the next room, the web of her love and caring gives tribute to friends lost but certainly not forgotten.

She’ll move on to the next room with tears in her eyes and the doilies in her purse. Its not over, the shifts just begun and there are still twenty two rooms to clean.

Old Joe was the local derelict. No one really knew the cause of what sent him to the streets It was rumored he only had an elementary education. His disheveled and dirty appearance made him seem older  than his 30 years. When he would walk by, people would whisper behind his back saying, “Poor old Joe. Will nothing good come of him?”

Old Joe spent his days searching in garbage cans for redeemable bottles and his nights sleeping in an alley. One day, Joe seemed to disappear without a trace. Some thought he hopped a train to the south, but no one knew for sure.

Ten years later, a new preacher came to town; he had a quiet and relaxed way about him as he stood on the corner handing leaflets out. On occasion, he could also be seen treating a homeless person to lunch as they sat and talked and he was also a favorite guest speaker at the local church.

After one sermon, a group of elderly ladies gathered together, commenting on how wise the preacher was. “Obviously, he came from a very good college,” remarked one lady. “Yes, it is rumored he came from a very well to do family,” said another.

The following Sunday, the preacher began to speak, “Ten years ago I felt I was a nobody. I had no real family, a limited education, and couldn’t get a job. No one seemed to care, so I, too, began to not care about my self. A woman reached out to me one day, told me about someone who DID care, God. She told me that God does not look at the outer appearance, but at one’s heart.  She told me that He loved me so much He sent His Son to die on the cross for my sins and that, through Him, I could have salvation.”

The preacher continued, “On that day, my life changed dramatically because for once I had a sense of hope. I may not have had an earthly family, but I had a whole slew of ‘brother’s and sister’s’ in the family of Christ! No longer did I have to be ‘poor old Joe,’ because in the Bible, it told me I was now a child of God! (“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” – I John 3:1)”

The whole congregation sat and stared in awe, now knowing the distinguished man before them was ‘ole Joe. That day, the sharing of his story of faith, hope, and love changed many lives.

Through the example of Old Joe, we can know ALL things are not only possible through Christ who strengthens us, but, through Him, former things are passed away and the new is now upon us!

If ole Joe can do it, so can you!  Call on your heavenly Father today.

- Contributed by Melanie Schurr

Tags: Bible, church, cross, god, heaven, life, love, story

There was this little girl sitting by herself in the park. Everyone passed by her and never stopped to see why she looked so sad. Dressed in a worn pink dress, barefoot and dirty, the girl just sat and watched the people go by.

She never tried to speak. She never said a word. Many people passed by her, but no one would stop. The next day I decided to go back to the park in curiosity to see if the little girl would still be there. Yes, she was there, right in the very spot where she was yesterday, and still with the same sad look in her eyes.

Today I was to make my own move and walk over to the little girl. For as we all know, a park full of strange people is not a place for young children to play alone. As I got closer I could see the back of the little girl’s dress. It was grotesquely shaped. I figured that was the reason people just passed by and made no effort to speak to her.

Deformities are a low blow to our society and, heaven forbid if you make a step toward assisting someone who is different. As I got closer, the little girl lowered her eyes slightly to avoid my intent stare. As I approached her, I could see the shape of her back more clearly. She was grotesquely shaped in a humped over form.

I smiled to let her know it was OK; I was there to help, to talk. I sat down beside her and opened with a simple, “Hello.” The little girl acted shocked, and stammered a “hi”; after a long stare into my eyes. I smiled and she shyly smiled back. We talked until darkness fell and the park was completely empty.

I asked the girl why she was so sad. The little girl looked at me and with a sad face said, “Because, I’m different.” I immediately said, “That you are!”; and smiled. The little girl acted even sadder and said, “I know.”

“Little girl,” I said, “you remind me of an angel, sweet and innocent.”

She looked at me and smiled, then slowly she got to her feet and said, “Really?”

“Yes, you’re like a little Guardian Angel sent to watch over all people walking by.”

She nodded her head yes, and smiled. With that she opened the back of her pink dress and allowed her wings to spread, then she said “I am.” “I’m your Guardian Angel,” with a twinkle in her eye.

I was speechless — sure I was seeing things.

She said, “For once you thought of someone other than yourself. My job here is done.”

I got to my feet and said, “Wait, why did no one stop to help an angel?” She looked at me, smiled, and said, “You’re the only one that could see me,” and then she was gone.

And with that, my life was changed dramatically.

So, when you think you’re all you have, remember, your guardian angel is always watching over you.

Tags: angel, god, heaven, story