A Quiet Life, a Big Impact
I was fortunate to grow up attending a small family-centered church. There were 3 family groups that made up a lot of the church body, along with other members. There were the McNallys, the Greens and the Bakers. I was part of the Baker clan. It wasn't until much later, now that I'm older and look around at life today, that I realized how blessed I was to have the childhood experiences that I had, and the people that were in my life.
Yesterday I attended the funeral for one of the Green clan. Ruth was a quiet woman with a funny sense of humor. Her daughters Christine and Justine were good friends of mine while we were growing up, and I was in and out of the home on almost a daily basis during my teen years. Ruth had heart problems, and often had energy issues. She liked being in her own cozy home and would always laugh over the stories I would tell her, or the things "you girls" were doing.
Ruth, along with her husband Danny, felt led to open their home to children in the foster care system. Over the years they fostered approximately 45 children, adopting 3 of them and adding to their family of 4 biological children. Some of these foster kids were in their care for a very brief time before going off to their new adoptive homes. Other children for one reason or another stayed longer periods before moving on. They brought their own set of baggage, challenges, hurts and sorrows. Ruth was their loving mother while they were in the home, wiping their tears, giving them hugs and praying over them. Ruth's children have gone on to foster and adopt children of their own, thus continuing a legacy of loving others.
She finally succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer's disease at the age of 62. While that was not nearly enough years on this earth for those who loved her, she made the most of them and impacted countless lives during her time with us. I am not a quiet woman. As my son Logan said, "Mom, you're hard to ignore." I think a lot of us could learn from Ruth's example, that sometimes the quietest actions can have the biggest impact.
Yesterday I attended the funeral for one of the Green clan. Ruth was a quiet woman with a funny sense of humor. Her daughters Christine and Justine were good friends of mine while we were growing up, and I was in and out of the home on almost a daily basis during my teen years. Ruth had heart problems, and often had energy issues. She liked being in her own cozy home and would always laugh over the stories I would tell her, or the things "you girls" were doing.
Ruth, along with her husband Danny, felt led to open their home to children in the foster care system. Over the years they fostered approximately 45 children, adopting 3 of them and adding to their family of 4 biological children. Some of these foster kids were in their care for a very brief time before going off to their new adoptive homes. Other children for one reason or another stayed longer periods before moving on. They brought their own set of baggage, challenges, hurts and sorrows. Ruth was their loving mother while they were in the home, wiping their tears, giving them hugs and praying over them. Ruth's children have gone on to foster and adopt children of their own, thus continuing a legacy of loving others.
She finally succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer's disease at the age of 62. While that was not nearly enough years on this earth for those who loved her, she made the most of them and impacted countless lives during her time with us. I am not a quiet woman. As my son Logan said, "Mom, you're hard to ignore." I think a lot of us could learn from Ruth's example, that sometimes the quietest actions can have the biggest impact.
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