Each of my clients/patients has richly blessed my life in their own unique way throughout my 35 years of caregiving. Each person’s life was filled with experiences and stories of their journey. Wonderful treasures!
Today I will share a wonderful act of generosity which greatly blessed me, and the story of the man behind that.
Art was in his early 80’s when I came to work for him. He lived with his daughter and son-in-law, but they worked during the day, so I was brought in as extra help to run errands, help with housework, and be of some company to him while he was at home alone. He appeared gruff on the outside, but inside was a heart of gold. Art was a veteran, serving many years in the U.S. Navy as a pilot who also knew much about repairing planes. He was stationed in Pearl Harbor the day it was attacked, surviving with a wealth of stories from that day.
His love for repairing airplanes transferred to repairing, rebuilding, and restoring cars long before I came to work in the home. He usually sold the cars he worked on, but some were kept and driven by the family. Art’s driving days were over by the time I met him, but he still rebuilt various cars until his knees would no longer allow him to crawl under the cars to do the work required.
When I first came to work for him, he was rebuilding and restoring a 1973 Volkswagen Squareback. The restoration was perfect in detail from the knobs and handles to the paint-job which was a beautiful sky-blue. When the restoration was complete, he put the car on the market to be sold. He had a few nibbles from interested buyers, but nothing seemed to pan out. From what he told me, prospective buyers were offering to buy the car at a considerably lower price than he was asking. And he would not budge on the selling price because he knew the cost, and the time, and the love that went into restoring that car.
One morning I went into work and Art came out from his bedroom to chat with me, as was our custom to do. He loved to watch the news, or historical programs, on TV so we usually would discuss world or local events.
We chatted for a while, and then he said to me, “Kathy, do you want a car?”
Now I knew what he was asking for that car, so I answered, “Art, I can’t afford to buy that car!! I wish I could, but I just can’t”
Art then said, “I didn’t ask you if you wanted to buy a car. I asked you if you want a car.”
My eyes must have been big as saucers and my jaw probably dropped, and Art went on to say, “I know what that car is worth and I’ll be damned if I’m going to sell it for what those people are offering! I’d rather give it away!”
By now, I’m feeling a little faint and wanting to pinch myself, but Art continued, “And if you want that car I am going to give it to you.”
And right after he said that, he presented me with the pink slip and the keys! Plus, he offered to continue to do what work he could on the car free of charge. I know I must have hugged him and thanked him a hundred times that day!
I drove that little VW for years, later found a friend who could work on it after Art could not any longer, and I cried when I finally had to sell it because the parts were getting too difficult to find. But it was sold to a father and son who loved to work on cars, so it went to a good home.
Oh, I have many more blessings to share with you from my years as a caregiver. But I’m sure this is one of my favorites.
Moral of the story: Our dedicated work as caregivers is always returned to us tenfold.
What a beautiful story.
Love this story! God always knows our needs and supplys them in wondrous ways.