"Sidney"
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Christian Encouragement July 27, 2001
<b>Yesterday afternoon, an elderly woman walked in my house and asked, "Where's June"? I
hung up the phone and met her in my entryway.</b>
<b>"I'm sorry sweetheart, but June doesn't live here", I said.</b>
<b>"Well, of course she does, and I need to talk to her", replied the woman.</b>
<b>She began to rub her face and then took off her bright blue straw hat. I looked down
and could see she had her shoes on the wrong feet. I thought, "Okay.....this is the old
woman I see hiding in the bushes every time I go to check my mail."</b>
<b>"My name is Debbie. What's yours?", I asked.</b>
<b>She turned around and looked across the street, then at me with bewilderment and
exclaimed, "I said I want JUNE"! I walked her outside and gently began to explain that no
one by that name has ever lived in this house. She stood there, frail, pale, and
disoriented. "I think my mother and father died a long time ago", she said.</b>
<b>"Do you have any children?", I asked.</b>
<b>"No", she replied.</b>
<b>"Would you like for me to walk you home?", I offered.</b>
<b>She tugged a little on the end of her hair, turned around and looked down the street
towards her own house and muttered, "No...hmmm." And she left.</b>
<b>Later yesterday afternoon, Sean (my son) and I walked up and down the street asking
different neighbors if they knew anything about this elderly lady. Most didn't, some did.
She lives alone, roams the block, and still drives, although she often gets lost and the
police have to bring her home again. Some said she has Alzheimer's. Others said she's a
danger to herself. Finally, someone told me her name.</b>
<b>Sidney.</b>
<b>I went to her house and knocked on the door.</b>
<b>"Hi Sidney. Remember me? You came to my house looking for June."</b>
<b>"Oh, yes, yes. Come in", she said.</b>
<b>Well, I stepped in to her home and found it overrun by cats. Odors so bad, I can still
smell them this morning. And I saw things too gross to write about. I tried to make small
chitchat, but she was so disoriented, I decided to cut my visit short. I came home and
called the "Adult Protection Agency". I thought, there has to be someone out there who can
help her, you know, see after her.</b>
<b>Later last night, I went back. Her house was horribly hot, but she didn't know why. I
checked her thermostat and the heater was on full blast. I asked her if I could readjust
it for her and she said, "Sure". She didn't even know it was on, and couldn't figure out
why she was so uncomfortable.</b>
<b>We sat down and talked. Actually, I just kept trying to follow. Her mind was running
all over the place and she kept tugging on her hair. I asked her why she was pulling on
her hair, and she said, "Because when I was a baby it was a different color and I don't
know what happened to it". Okay...</b>
<b>To make a long story short, the county sent out a mental health worker and a nurse whom
I met this morning at Sidney's. Final answer? She has Dementia, but no one can help her
until she leaves the stove on and burns down the house.</b>
<b>As the three of us were walking back to my house, I looked back and Sidney was picking
up the newspapers from all the driveways and putting them in the garbage. Someone else's
garbage. The two men left, and as I walked onto my lawn, I looked back again. There was
Sidney, 82 years old, her mind....who knows where, standing in the middle of the street,
with her hand shading her eyes, looking around as though she was trying to remember
something she had long since forgotten. I walked into my house and closed the door.</b>
<b>The reason I'm writing about Sidney today is because I believe God has brought her into
my life for a good reason. I mean, one day she's hiding in the bushes watching me get my
mail, and the next day, she's walking right into my house looking for someone who may or
may not exist. Granted, a stimulating two-way conversation is out of the question, but
isn't it funny how God knows all the little things, the yearnings, the things that touch
our hearts the most? And then how He surprises us by bringing people and situations into
our lives so that we can share ourselves and use our gifts for Him?!</b>
<b>One thing I have discovered about Sidney is she loves tea parties. Good! I'll pick some
roses from the garden, dig out my good china teacups and put the kettle on!</b>
<b>Let's remember to make it a special point to reach out to the elderly. Whether we know
them or not... have loved them before or not... whether they're family, church members or
a stranger who walks through your front door, let's give them an extra helping of Christ's
love and gentleness and LOTS of attention. Let us not forget them, or in my case, leave
them standing alone in the bushes.</b>
<b>Anyone else for a tea party?</b>
<b>With Love in Christ,</b>
Debbie Reed-Parman
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