When we moved to Wills Point in 2013, we bought a property on the north end of town, still residential (sort of) but not that far from the county line. Across the road from us is the home of Glynn Ellis, a long time resident, businessman, civic leader and philanthropist. Our half acre property is modest compared to his. Mr. Ellis and Mama June are in their 80’s and no longer in good health; he is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s and their children have arranged 24/7 care.
The constant is Miss Stella. She has been the housekeeper/cook for the Ellis family for more than 35 years. Think “The Help”, but without the bad stuff. We’ve passed a few words with Stella over the last 18 months. She’s a nice lady and as we sit on our back deck, whether morning or evening, we see her coming and going and she always waves to us. Somehow it’s just comforting to know that she’s over there.
Having just lost my father back in October, I’ve been thinking of the temporal nature of life and that we shouldn’t leave things un-said. Whatever you need to say or do, get it said or done sooner rather than later. We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. The last couple of days, I’ve thought about taking a little gift of some kind over to Miss Stella to express our feelings. Most days she leaves promptly at 6pm but today I saw her headed to her car around 5:45pm so I took my little token over and waved her down. She rolled down the window, said hello, but she was obviously upset with tears rolling down her cheeks. I asked her if she was okay.
Through her tears, she told me that her 27 year old nephew had committed suicide two days ago and that she had arrived with the police and found the young man. She was not able to “un-see” the horror she had witnessed. I took her hand and prayed with her. She went on her way and I walked back across the road.
My point? Go read the above. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. If there’s something you need to deal with, something that needs to get said or done, do it now. You may not have the opportunity again. I’m so grateful that God prodded me to walk across the road, join hands with a kind woman of a different skin color, and ask Him to give comfort to the family.
God brought us to this little corner of Van Zandt County for many reasons. This was just one of them.
Blessings,
Ken
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