Betty

Her name was Betty. She was my son-in-law’s great aunt. She passed over a week ago at the age of 101. I knew no one like her. She could have given up because of a lifetime of incredible hardship. But she never did. She served her family instead of herself. She loved and physically took care of a husband with dementia, two daughters, and a granddaughter until they all passed. Betty opened her home to family and those who needed her. She was always available to help others through the hard times of life.

Years ago when I first visited Betty in her home, her kitchen counters were filled with food she had fixed, and her heart overflowed with joy you had come. Her heart at 101 still overflowed with joy and concern for others. She always asked about your family and how you really were. When young people visited assisted living, they would always come to see her. She would declare that these children were the very best and she had such high hopes for them. The truth is people wanted to visit Betty. If you were having a hard day, her laughter and encouragement would bring joy to your heart. 

Betty always saw the best in people, listening to the concerns of their hearts and unashamedly giving advice. She never stopped wanting to take care of people. She wanted to take care of herself at NHC Place so that those who took care of her wouldn’t have to work so hard. She declared they had their own lives at home, husbands and children to take care of, yet were so good to her. It concerned Betty that her granddaughter, Cindy, who was responsible for her care, chose to put her own life on hold because of her. She knew Cindy would always be there to take care of her, and she wanted Cindy to be free to go to Tennessee where she had built a new home.

There is so much more I could write about Betty. But no words I write could explain how this beautiful person has impacted my life. She was always quick to tell you who had impacted hers. Each time my friend, Debbie, and I visited Betty, she wanted to talk about Jesus. She said Jesus had walked right in front of her all the days of her life and was still walking in front of her. She never got in front of him. She declared that it wasn’t her place to do that. Betty often said she could just reach up, and there Jesus was, helping her button her blouse that her fumbling fingers couldn’t button or helping her do the hard things that she had once found easy. 

I visited Betty recently on a Saturday. For the first time she didn’t know who I was. She kept looking over my shoulder and smiling at something behind me. Betty had been tired for quite awhile. Debbie and I had prayed that Jesus would send His angels for her. Three days after my visit, this sweet lady who was always quick to declare she had followed Jesus all the days of her life, followed Him right into eternity.

This month I turn 78. Remembering Betty has make me think about my own time to leave this world. I’m so thankful that I will not only see Jesus and my family who have gone before me, but I’ll also see Betty. She promised to prepare a grand feast for me. I yearn to share heaven one day with my family. Betty would always lean forward in her recliner and take my hand and tell me to just keep loving and praying for them. To never give up. I have to continually trust that Jesus will reach each one of them with His unconditional love and grace. 

If you are older like me, you know what it means to anticipate your life on earth will soon be over. If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, He has loved you from the very beginning. His grace looks beyond the sins that have tried to destroy you and sees your need to be free—to be loved. Open your heart to Him. Lay everything down. Invite Him to come into your life. He won’t force you. He loves you enough to give you the right to choose or refuse Him. Don’t refuse Him. He will come into your life and wash away all that has separated you from His love. All your past, present, and future sins will no longer be yours. You will no longer own them. You will never have to carry them again. You can have a new life in Jesus. You can receive the gift of His unconditional love and grace. No words I write can describe the relief and joy you will experience. 

To my dearest friend, Betty, “You have been one of my greatest encouragers. I will see you again. You said to me only a few weeks before you passed, ‘We will sit down, Lynn, and have a cup of coffee that I can make again and eat something I can bake again. And we will rejoice in Jesus.’”

“Oh, yes, Betty, we will."