My aunt told my sister and I some great stories today of caring for others in many ways. She reminded us that her mother had a baby who died shortly after he was born. I had forgotten all about it. He was buried in a grave along side of many other infants. For many years, one of the uncles would place a cross at the site, as there was no headstone. After some years, my aunt had a headstone placed in the spot as she wanted to make sure it was marked. That really touched my heart. She also told us about their “Opa” – grandfather – who lived with them later in his life as the family cared for him. I remember my mother telling me about him too. She and her sister were just children at the time. He would sit and look out the window for long periods of time. One day when they came home from school, they couldn’t find their Opa. They looked all over, even in the closets as he may have been hiding from them. Then their mother told them that he had died. They learned very young how to care for others with dignity and respect. She also told us a funny story about neighbors taking care of others. When she was young, they lived in a house that was close to a small airport. If an airplane was going to come land at night, someone would put the word out and man neighbors drove their trucks out to the airport and lined up in specific spots with their headlights on. This would light the landing strip so the airplane pilots could see where to go. My aunt said she thought it was so much fun to get to hop in the bakery truck and go see the airplanes land at night. She told many other stories of how she and other family members cared for others. I loved hearing them all.

I Found God today in my aunt’s stories of taking care.