out of the overflow of the heart

Composed on 12.11.2013 regarding my recent work at a local nursing home.

She’s not exactly a pleasant woman to be around. Most of the day she stays hunched over in her wheelchair, either asleep or scooting herself up and down the hallways. She often dons a red crocheted beret, slightly tilted to one side. Her loosely buttoned blouse is nearly always stained with tobacco and saliva, her long nails carry remnants of yesterday’s meal. She carries her ziplock bag of tobacco in her blouse and tucks a clear plastic spit cup beside her on the cushion of her wheelchair. Sometimes I find her outside, sitting in a spot of sunshine...I wish more residents would go outside for some fresh air and sunshine. Ms. Marlene is not exactly a pleasant woman to be around, but beyond the exterior she has a special gift that she cannot keep to herself and this, more than the previous description, is what sets her apart. You cannot talk to Marlene about anything without her sharing words of faith in Jesus. 
“How are you today, Marlene?” 
“I’m alright. Thank the Lord! Thank the Lord!”
“Did you eat lunch today?”
“Yes. You know Jesus is the bread of life! He is the Good Shepherd!”
“I agree!”
“You’ve always got to tell the truth! Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life!”
“That’s true...I’ll see you later, Ms. Marlene”
“Okay, bye...Uuuhmaaazing grace! How sweet the sound....” she rolls away singing with a tremor in her aging voice.
That is a typical conversation with Marlene. Psychologically, she is not fully intact, but her conversations are an outpouring of the words that have filled her life. I don’t know her story. I don’t know how she lived her life. All I know, is that I want to live my life in such a way, that when my body is failing and my mind has gone, I want my spirit to still emit sweet words of Truth.

“For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34