"Please, God?"
By Bob Perks
Bob@...


We all make promises that at the time seem to be the proper thing to
do. But in our hearts we know it's just polite chatter between friends.

"You know it's been much too long. Let's plan on getting together soon and
catch up on all that's been going on in our lives."

"Sure. Give me a call."

Then we walk away knowing it will never really happen.

Millie always meant what she said.

"It's a date!" she would say and I would reply "Mark it on your calendar."

What seems an eternity ago, I once worked in a retirement center. Not one
of those fancy care taker places you see today, but the county rest
home. It really looked more like a hospital than a home.

It very well may be where my real interest in people began. I met so many
wonderful older folks there and because I was in my early 20's their wisdom
caught my attention and filled my spirit with hope.

Millie was a gem.

I would see her several times a day and every time I said, "I'll see you
later!" she would reply, "It's a date!" Then she would grab her notebook
and jot it down.

Millie kept those dates for the first few months she was there. But her
time was limited and she knew it. As her body began to weaken her spirit
stayed very much alive. She would struggle to reach for her notebook, but
always refused to accept help.

But the day came when Millie could no longer grasp and hold the book or
pen. I had just checked on her and we talked about life and all the joys
she had experienced. She would never have a bad thing to say.

When I was about to leave I said, "Millie, I'll see you later."

There was no response.

I couldn't leave. I was so used to hearing her reply that it felt
inappropriate for me to just walk out. So I walked closer to her bed and
leaned over her.

"Millie, I'll see you later, okay?"

She smiled and reaching her right hand toward the bed table in front of
her, she struggled to pick up the book.

"Do you want me to mark it down for you?" I asked.

She nodded her head.

I took her pen and opened up the note book. I couldn't believe what I was
seeing. I thumbed through and every single page had the same thing
scribbled several times.

"Please, God?"

"Millie, I thought you were making dates all this time," I said to her.

She smiled and reached for my hand.

"Bob, I wasn't making dates. I was asking God to help me keep them," she said.

I wrote, "Please, God" in her book and laid it back on the table.

Every one of those notations were Millie's way of asking God to keep her
around long enough to fulfill her promise.

On her final day with us, I rushed to her bedside to say my goodbyes before
they took her away. Gathering her belongings I picked up the notebook and
paged through it one more time.

There must have been a thousand notations in that book.

But Millie knew when it was time to go. The very last entry in her "Date"
book read, "Thanks, God!"

As they covered her I said, "Millie, I'll see you in Heaven."

I swear I heard her say, "It's a date!"

I replied, "Please God?"

"I believe in You!"
Bob Perks
Bob@...
Please don't remove my name and contact info!
If you are about to copy this story to share with your friends, please
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LIST OWNERS: If you would like to use just
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contact me for permission. ==================================


~~~~~
Jude "White-Bear" Correll
Animal Psychic Team
Spirit Foundation Int'l
www.AnimalPsychicTeam.com
spirit@...
~~~~~
Let everything you do be your expression of Spirit,
And everything you say be your Prayer ~Anon
~~~~~
ICQ #15597888
MSN Msgr "whitebear"/AOL IM: "akwhitebear"
~~~~~
Nice article on the Power of Intention and Animal Healing
http://www.sidereus.org/a/jwb_intention.htm
~~~~~