The first caregiver that we hired about a year ago still comes over 2 days a week. She has been such a hard worker, very reliable, and a calm presence. She is also Japanese and has difficulty hearing. Her accent is very strong and I wasn’t sure at first how she and my mom would be together – especially since neither of them can hear very well. But early on it was clear that they had figured it out. We recently extended her hours, so she is here for 7 hours straight on 1 of the days. This gives me a much better opportunity to have conversation with her. In the past, she has told us about her family and her dog. And she has always filled me in on exactly what my mom did while I was out running errands. But as I’m able to get to know her better now, I’m appreciating her experiences, interests, and sense of humor. Sometimes my mom reads one of her devotion books to her and tries to explain it. We always say a prayer before we eat and today the caregiver asked what it was exactly that we were saying. Instead of trying to break it down word for word, I told her that we were thanking God for the food He has provided. She said she does a similar ritual in Japanese before and after a meal. Then she told me that this morning when my mom had her face cream on her finger to apply it, she touched her forehead, then finished making the sign of the cross. That was pretty funny. I am very much enjoying having conversations with her and getting to know her better.

I Found God today getting to know a wonderful caregiver better.