Meals on Wheels

After ballet we grabbed breakfast and hot chocolates from Tim Horton's as we made our way downtown for Meals on Wheels.

The building we deliver to is 14 stories tall and on the outskirt of downtown Columbus. Each floor has an open area with large windows and we always enjoy checking out the views.

Today's delivery was going like any other...except a little more rushed because of Emilie's upcoming Christmas program at Merry Moppet. We started deliveries on the 12th floor and made our way down....11,9,8, then 7 with a visit with Rosemary during which we empty her trash and make sure she is warm enough before leaving. Then continue with 6, 5, 4, 3, then 2. On the 2nd floor we deliver to Mr. Julio first, then visit with Ms. Geraldine. Sometimes we glue together broken ceramic figures or sometimes help her cut out pictures of Tiger Woods & Barack Obama to hang on her wall to decoupage with. Today though Ms. Geraldine's vents were blowing cold air (and it was low 20's today) and her phone was acting up. She was distraught because she had been dealing with the cold air since the previous evening and had not been able to get any help for it with her phone not working (she is a shut in). So Caleb and I worked on her phone, got it working again, and were able to get a hold of maintenance to report the problem. Another 5 minutes and we were able to calm Ms. Geraldine's nerves and had her somewhat comfortable and relaxed before leaving with a promise to check in later in the day to make sure the heat was fixed. So for the most part... just another delivery day.

After leaving Ms. Geraldine's we moved 1 door down to Mr. Roebuck's. Always the last delivery.. which is intentional because we like to be able to relax and visit with him without having to worry about the next delivery. As always we knocked on the door and heard his voice call out, "Come in!". But right away I knew something was wrong. His voice was not the usual hearty, booming bass- it was tired and deflated. We walked in to see him at his usual spot.. on the couch in front of the tv. The original plan for a quick visit was dismissed from my mind as we exchanged our usual greetings. The lack of spark in his eyes prompted me to sit down and make myself comfortable.... it was quickly obvious this was not going to be a normal visit.

Mr. Roebuck has been battling cancer throughout his body for 10 years with a recent return of a mass 2 months ago. Treatment has not yet been determined. Surgery is out of question due to his declining health and chemo will make minimal difference at this point. Our friend has been dealing with a lot of pain and discomfort recently and it has taken its toll. He shared with me this morning how tired he was and how he didn't want to go on living if this was how life was going to be. He went on to share with me how he had purchased a pistol earlier in the week... his plan was to use it to take his life when he was ready to go.

As Mr. Roebuck spoke my first instinct was to watch Caleb & Emilie's faces for their reactions and fortunately they didn't seem to be too concerned with the conversation. I didn't know what to say to our friend so I sat and listened as best as I could. At the end of it all we told him how much we appreciated him and promised to come visit next week.

I left Mr. Roebuck's apartment with a heavy heart... I had no idea how to help him nor how to explain to Caleb and Emilie about suicide. But God navigated the words from my mouth and opened their minds to understand the situation. As we left the building, Caleb said the following prayer...

"God, please help Mr. Roebuck to feel better and help him not to use that gun. But if he dies and he goes to heaven, I know that will be a good thing because he won't feel bad anymore and I'll be happy for him. He can hang out with Pa too. Amen."

Thank you, Lord for the amazing children you have blessed me with. Without their unconditional love and child like faith in You, it would be so much harder to trust that You are in control at all times!