200 ~ Henry

By Kay Heitsch

The following story had a profound impact on my life. This happened right after Todd died. Now I see God was preparing me to help many other people. God has brought triumph out of tragedy.

When I chose to become a Christian, I told the Lord I wanted to be "available" whenever and wherever He needed me.

Being "available" has taken me to some unusual places. One such place was an old, white-framed, two-story nursing home. The rooms in the house were large, with uneven floors.

To get to the rooms on the second floor, you had to climb the long, narrow, winding stairs carefully. After going up and down those stairs a few times, I wondered how any of those older people could climb them.

Every Thursday evening at 7:00, I would find myself "available" to visit this nursing home. The management said I was more dependable than the staff.

I always brought a basket of wrapped candy whenever I came to visit. I asked the staff who was diabetic so that I could make sure to have some sugar-free candy for those folks, too. I didn't want anyone to be left out.

I walked into every room and greeted each person. Most people were friendly and pleased to see me. Others were gruff and acted like they weren't sure what to think of me.

One older man was in this latter category. Henry would hardly look up when I walked in. He seemed almost irritated that I stopped by.

Every Thursday evening, I would hesitate outside of Henry's door, thinking, "Lord, do I need to go in here? This man doesn't even like me!" Every week, the Lord seemed to say, "Go in."

I had gotten started later than usual this particular Thursday evening when I walked up to Henry's room. I peeked in, hoping he was asleep, so I wouldn't need to feel like I was bothering him.

Just my luck, Henry was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Oh joy, I guess I should go in and get rejected again," I thought.

To my surprise, Henry glanced up at me and said in his usual gruff manner, "Will you help me?" I was startled by the question. "Yes, I'll help you. What do you need?" I responded, wondering why I would have said such a thing. "Good grief, I don't even work here. Maybe I should go find someone who does," ran through my mind.

I was used to just talking to these people. I had never been asked to "help" anyone. I wondered what Henry wanted.

Henry was sitting on the side of the bed in long underwear. This long underwear had seen better days. I noticed several holes in them, and the color was not exactly what it was when they were new. I noticed a pair of old pajamas he had beside him on the bed.

Henry lifted his head and looked me straight in the eyes. I could see that he was a proud man who had probably had a hard life. I was sure he had always taken care of himself. Asking for help would have been out of the question.

Henry didn't want to ask for help, but now he was old and feeble and needed it. "What can I do to help you?" I asked. He pointed to the old pajamas.

In a gruff voice, but soft, Henry said, "Would you help me put these on?" as he glanced at the pajamas."I would be happy to," I responded.

I had never helped a stranger put on clothes of any kind, let alone pajamas. "Well, there's a first time for everything."

I did my best to help Henry slip his thin arms into the pajama top. The material was so light that I could almost see my skin through it. I carefully lined up the buttons with the holes and buttoned each one. I gently straightened the wrinkled collar so it was in place.

All the while, Henry sat very still and remained silent. As I picked up the pajama bottom, I found myself kneeling in front of Henry.

I felt a strange sense of peace as Henry lifted each foot so I could slip the pajama leg on. I noticed how difficult it was for Henry, even with my help, to put them on.

With my mission complete, I stood up to leave. Henry slowly lifted his head. When his sad eyes met mine, he whispered, "Thank you."

I felt tears filling my eyes. I bent down, gave him a small hug, and whispered, "You're welcome."

As strange as it may seem, this was one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had. How could something so humble have such a profound impact on me? I will never understand. All I did was help someone with a small need.

I may not have understood what happened, but I knew without a doubt that I had just been kneeling on holy ground.

Remember how I led you on this long journey. Deuteronomy 8:2

199 ~ Christmas Traditions

By Kay Heitsch

As I think back on our Christmas traditions, I see that some have remained the same, but many things have changed.

I still make more or less the same treats. I ask what the kids want, and that's what I make.

When Noah and Eli were little, we would go to Columbus and watch Eli in the Christmas Eve program. At first, he was a farm animal, in the program, then graduated to being a wise man.

After the Christmas program, we always went to Bob Evens to eat.

I'll never forget when the waitress asked Eli for his order. Without missing a beat, Eli told the waitress he would be having his usual. The waitress smiled and replied, "Oh, that would be the Little Piggy Pancakes?" Eli nodded, yes. We all laughed and still talk about it.

Traditions are nice, but I don't think Eli wants to order Little Piggy Pancakes anymore.

I'm not sure if we are going to wear our Christmas crazy sweaters like we did last year. Maybe that was a one-hit wonder.

Some traditions change, some remain the same, and some are added. I like it this way.

Remember how I led you on this long journey. Deuteronomy 8:2

198 ~ A Secret Until Now

By Kay Heitsch

In the 1960s, I lived with Aunt Carmeleta and Uncle Fred for one year. They lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at the time.

If you don't know anything about Grand Rapids, I will tell you the city is in what is called the snow belt. Grand Rapids gets a lot of snow in the winter.

My cousin, Pat, and I walked to school, rain, shine, sleet, or snow. The school was several blocks away, but we didn't seem to mind the walk.

One day, on our walk to school, it had snowed. But on top of the snow there was a sheet of ice. We literally were walking on top of the icy snow.

The snowplows had come along and piled drifts on the corners of the streets. That being said, we had to walk on top of these icy drifts to cross the roads.

We were doing well navigating the drifts until Pat fell, I started to laugh, and then I fell. I don't know why it was so funny, but the two of us were laughing so hard we couldn't stop. Well, we did stop when we both wet our pants. Can you even imagine?

Now we had to turn around and go back home, change our clothes, and try to make our way to school again. I'm sure we were late. I don't remember what our excuse was; it was our secret until now.

Remember how I led you on this long journey. Deuteronomy 8:2

197 ~ Christmas Surprise

By Kay Heitsch

I was never taught to believe in Santa. I don't know why, except maybe because of my parents' childhoods.

At Christmas time, as soon as the Christmas tree was up, any gifts were put under the tree. I don't remember receiving any gifts from anyone except my parents.

One year, there were hardly any gifts under the tree. Mom explained that it had been a challenging year financially, so that was the reason why.

I don't remember feeling too bad about it. I enjoyed what we did, aside from any gifts, anyway. I did miss shaking the gifts, trying to figure out what was in them.

We usually opened any gifts that were under the tree on Christmas Eve. So I did open a pair of pajamas, which was one gift I always got. Mom and Dad were into practical gifts.

On Christmas Day, Mom told me to go across the street to the gas station because one of the guys there had something for me.

I ran over to the station, and there waiting for me was a set of skis, boots, and poles. Living in Michigan, we had a ski resort nearby, so during the Christmas break, I learned to ski.

This was a surprise Christmas for sure! I got a lot of use out of those skis, too. Another practical gift from Mom and Dad.

Remember how I led you on this long journey. Deuteronomy 8:2

196 ~ Handling Christmas After Loss

By Kay Heitsch

Christmas can be a tough time for someone who has experienced a profound personal loss. Every situation is different.

My emotions after my folks died have been totally different than thinking about Todd at Christmas time.

The first Christmas after Todd died, I had Shannon and Brandon to think about. I wanted them to enjoy the holiday and have good memories. I went through the everyday Christmas things. But it was hard!

I remember I wrote "Lovingly, Bill, Kay, Shannon, Brandon, and in loving memory of Todd" on the Christmas cards. I had to include Todd. It was so weird not to start with his name, naming the children. I stopped doing that after the first year. But it seemed to help me deal with the pain in my heart that first year.

I made things that Todd and everyone enjoys. I still do to this day. The treats are a tradition. I ask, and everyone puts in their request.

I'm sure I'm not alone. Christmas brings back memories and emotions at various times during the season. I miss Todd, and being around family seems to intensify my feelings. I do my best, with God's help, to hold it together.

With God's help, we can get through anything knowing He will bring good out of it. I like to keep that thought.

Remember how I led you on this long journey. Deuteronomy 8:2

195 ~ The Snowsuit

By Kay Heitsch

"Can you tell me if anyone in our store does community service?" Bill asked. A person spoke up and said," I know that Rose does. She helps the homeless at her church."

My husband Bill had recently been transferred to this store as the Store Manager. Bill liked to recognize employees who worked in community service. He met with Rose and learned about the outreach program in her inner-city church. Bill told Rose that he thought that I would enjoy helping her.

When Bill came home that night after the two-hour commute, he told me about his conversation with Rose. I was excited about the idea of helping in such a program. I started spreading the word that Bill had an employee helping the homeless from her church. I asked if anyone wanted to help by donating usable items. The response was terrific.

Word spread like wildfire. Churches were calling, offering clothing and food. Once a week, I stopped by a church in a nearby town. Each week, I loaded the back of our van with items that people in their congregation dropped off.

An older couple from our congregation gave us a check and told us to use the money to buy Bibles and inspirational materials to take to the mission.

On several occasions, I came home and found bags of clothing sitting in front of our garage. Every day when Bill drove to work, his car was loaded with help for people experiencing homelessness, given by total strangers.

I took this opportunity to clean out the closets in our home, too. Bill had an overcoat he seldom wore. I put the overcoat in, along with clothes our children had outgrown and several of my own.

Occasionally, Rose would stop in Bill's office and tell him stories about the mission. One day, she talked about an overcoat that her minister had taken from our donated clothes. As Rose described the overcoat, Bill knew it was his. He was glad to have been able to provide this young minister with a warm coat.

One cold day, I walked by our downstairs closet. I noticed a snowmobile suit that had been our oldest son, Todd's. The thought of putting this snowsuit in for the mission immediately came to my mind. I dismissed the idea as I saved this snowsuit for Brandon, our youngest son.

Todd had died in a car accident a few years before, and for some reason, I had held this snowmobile suit for Brandon. This was one of the very few things I had kept of Todd's.

I couldn't believe the LORD would want me to give up this "special" snowsuit I had saved all these years. The thought came again, "Put the snowmobile suit in." I walked over and took it off the hanger. I looked at the tag inside. It was a man's size small. When Todd died, he was six feet tall.

How long had I been keeping this? Brandon wasn't quite three years old when Todd died. Even now, he wasn't big enough for this suit.

I decided it was time to part with this "special" snowmobile suit I'd been saving. I took it off the hanger and laid it lovingly on top of a bag of other clothes for the mission.

Bill's old store was closing. Almost everything in the store was gone. Now, they were getting rid of the racks. We knew the mission could use the shelves to hang clothes.

We rented a Ryder truck and loaded several racks in. We stopped by another church to pick up clothes before heading to the mission two hours north. Since we'd rented this truck, I decided to ride along. Usually, Bill took everything to his store. Then Rose's husband would come in and pick up the things.

We drove the truck to the store that day and met Rose's husband there. He jumped in the truck to give us directions to the church where the mission was.

It was a cold day in Cleveland. The wind was blowing, and the snow was beginning to fall as we drove into the area where the mission was. Looking around, I saw that this neighborhood differed from the one I knew. As we pulled up in front of the church, I noticed all the windows had bars. The front door had a huge chain going through the handles.

We stopped the truck in front of the church and opened the door. As we left the Ryder truck, a small black man with a big, toothless smile greeted us. He ran over to the truck and offered to help. I looked at this man and at Bill. I couldn't believe my eyes. This little man had Todd's snowmobile suit on! Tears filled my eyes.

Rose walked into Bill's office the next day and asked, "Did you see the man in the snowsuit at the mission?" When Bill said he had, Rose continued, "You know, Bill, there's a story behind that snowsuit."

Rose went on to tell Bill how this little homeless man was always around to help. Rose said that the day this snowsuit came in, he had picked up the bag, and the snowsuit fell at his feet. He picked it up and asked if he could try it on.

Rose told Bill that she thought it was "rather foolish" that a grown man would want a one-piece snowsuit like this, but she told him to go ahead and try it on. When he tried it on, it fit perfectly! He told Rose that he had wanted a snowsuit like this all his life, and now he finally had one.

When Bill came home and told me this story, the LORD spoke to my heart and said, "Kay, you were wondering why you were saving that snowmobile suit all these years; now you know!" All these years, I'd thought I was saving this special snowmobile suit for our son, Brandon.

But now I knew I was saving it for a special child of God who had always wanted one.

Remember how I led you on this long journey. Deuteronomy 8:2

194 ~ Ice Skating Walk

By Kay Heitsch

Growing up in the northern part of Michigan during the winter, you will find cold weather and plenty of snow.

I didn't really care because I enjoyed playing in the snow, and I especially liked to ice skate. The city skating rink was at the other end of town from our home.

I had a friend named Star, whose dad flooded their backyard and built an ice rink for her. Of course, I wanted my dad to water our front yard, but he never did.

To skate, I sometimes went to Star's house, but I usually went to the skating rink at the other end of town.

Mom would drive me down to the rink, and after so long, she would come back and pick me up.

One day, I was having fun skating. Several people I knew were there; however, one by one, they left.

There was a little shed you could go into to get out of the wind and cold, which was nice. I sat in there for a short while, then had the bright idea to walk home.

I will never forget that walk on those ice skates. There were no cell phones back in those days, so I couldn't call my mom.

My poor ankles were killing me by the time I walked up to our front door. The look on my mom's face! I was crying, of course.

Mom asked why I didn't wait for her to come and get me. I didn't know. When everyone left, I didn't want to be alone there, I presume.

Walking on ice skates, even if it was only half a mile on sidewalks, seemed like a long, long walk. I never tried it again.

I remember Mom helped me take off my skates, and we both had a cup of hot chocolate. Boy, I needed it!

Remember how I led you on this long journey. Deuteronomy 8:2