Today's Christmas Hero

   Today's Christmas Hero is Patricia, who lived at the same adult care home with my dad the last years of his life. Pat had the most interesting speech. It was forced and quick and also generous. Every time we came to visit my dad Pat treated me like I was her family too. Since I wanted all my limited time with my dad, I never gave her my heart.
   When dad died I went back to the adult home and told his house mates that he had passed and I sat by Pat on the couch for the first time. Her short brief candor had deep heartfelt emotion this time. I sat by her and listened. "I'm sorry about Richard......I loved him you know..... I was hoping that one day he would marry me......"
   (Ah yes, of course you did.......My father, who suffered from schizophrenia, and thought he was Moses, Adam, and Jesus, was quite the ladies man. At the previous home, he met with a woman for Bible study and my dad said she was hoping to be his girlfriend. Alas, there was another woman who stole his heart, and she said nice prayers, so dad chose her for a nursing home romance.)
   I kindly left Pat that day and she wanted my address. She said she would write me, so I gave her my contact information. No harm in that. It would never happen.
   Except it did.
   Pat writes me. Consistantly. I always look at the letter when it comes. A foreign peice of paper that comes in the mail, written by hand. I sigh and think, "Here's a letter that reminds me that my dad died. A lady that has no family and an empty place in her heart by a man that she was hoping to love her back who died." I read it always.....and throw it away.
   It has been two years and seven months since my dad died and again I got a letter this week. It was this week that God finally opened my eyes...."YOU...WRITE HER BACK....GIVE HER YOUR HEART....SHE IS THE LEAST OF THESE...LET'S DO THIS!!!!!" and I didn't like that call. Because I don't know what to say to her. I got my pen and paper and stared at it. My husband said, "Just tell her what you did this week. It's not that hard. You usually have no trouble telling people about your life." Which is so true. But words are the way I give you my heart. And to write her meant I cared about her. So I tried. I told her that I had a peppermint mocha at McDonalds yesterday....and I liked it.
   Patricia gives her heart to me when I give her nothing in return. It's like a letter from Jesus every month that says, "What about your heart? You talk a lot.....but do you really love people? Last night I tried....and Pat will get a letter for Christmas this year. An attempt to give her my heart. Sometimes we don't choose the people in our life, but we can choose to love them, or not.
   Sometimes the hero's in this life are the people who do amazing things. And sometimes the hero's in this life, like Patricia, are the people who love even when there isn't much in return. "Keep your hand on that plow....HOLD on...."