I went to visit my Great Auntie this morning. I arrived promptly to be told by my straight shooter of an elderly relative that I must take her to the bookstore and the supermarket first. We waddled along and weaved in and out of the aisles. We got what we wanted and returned to her house, to sit down and talk.
She made me a coffee and herself a tea and sat on the rose tinted couch across from me. She asked me how I was and told me what she knew. 93 years of wisdom and living a life full of love (a different kind to what we know) were poured into my cup.
She told me of her younger days. When she was my age and she used to wonder if this was to be her life, that she'd rest her weary head on the metal bars in the cowshed and ask herself if this was all she was made for. The boy who proposed when she was 18 and although he was wonderful she couldn't accept because she had other burdens on her heart. He never married. The moment she knew she was meant to travel to India and work with those in need. The moment she discovered unconditional love in the eyes of a diseased baby in Mother Theresa's orphanage in Calcutta. The school she built for those yearning to be educated. Her battles with numerous types cancer that she has overcome. The man who she befriended after he'd done a 10 year stint in prison without asking questions. The fire in her heart to see our nation changed.
Strangely enough, the bit that encouraged me the most was that she too questioned what she was doing. A literal life changer with so many healed hearts in her sight too once wondered why she was where she was. With all that behind her she can now see that there were dreams beyond her ceilings. There were things for her that she wouldn't have even dared to hope for.
Take heart! There are greater times than now. You were made for bigger things than this. Don't underestimate what lies beyond the cowshed. Oh and do yourself a favour, Hang out with Auntie Catherine.
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