Mabel

I have just started reading a new book titled, "The Life You've Always Wanted," by John Ortberg. Ortberg is the Senior Pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, CA. The subtitle of the book is: "Spiritual Growth for Ordinary People."
In the book Ortberg relates a story from a friend of his. This friend was visiting a nursing home speaking to some of the residents. While moving from wheelchair to wheelchair he met Mabel. He spoke to her and offered her a flower and said: "Happy Mother's Day!" Mabel's response surprised him. She said, "May I give it away?" The man rolled Mabel over to another group of wheelchairs where she proceeded to give the flower to a lady and said, "This is from Jesus."
The man, moved by Mabel's response, began to visit with her two or three times a week. He learned that Mabel was blind, nearly deaf, had cancer that had caused her mouth to droop due to what the cancer had done to her face. He learned that she had been in the nursing home for 25 years, shortly after she had become blind.
Mabel lived on a farm with her Mom. After her Mother passed away, Mabel continued to take care of the farm. But when she became blind she, and unable to care for the farm any longer, she moved into the nursing home. He also learned that she had few visitors, lived in a room with other ladies that were in worst shape than she. The other ladies in Mabel's room, moaned and groaned most the day, every day. But Mabel never complained.
While reading the Bible to her, he would pause while reading, but she would continue to speak the passage by memory. He asked her one day about her life and her response was: "Jesus is all the world to me." Mabel began to sing:

"Jesus is all the world to me, My life, my joy, my all;

He is my strength from day to day,

Without Him I would fall;

When I am sad, to Him I go; No other one can cheer me so;

When I am sad, He makes me glad; He's my friend."

I began to think: here is a lady, obviously afflicted with pain and physical problems who had found her contentment in Christ. Mabel had discovered what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:11: "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." She was content because she had been transformed by her Savior. Nothing in life mattered to her but Jesus.

That reminded me of a man in Jena, LA where I served for 12 years. He lived alone when he suffered a stroke. He laid in his house for a day or two unable to reach anyone, or they reach him. He stayed in the hospital for weeks until they moved him to the nursing home. Every time I visited with him - he couldn't communicate with you - he would just babble. But I noticed something. When we would sing an old hymn he would sing along with us. He knew every word. He couldn't communicate with anyone - but he could still sing about his faith in God.

We might not have understood him, but in his head he do what he was saying and singing.
We need to be like Mabel and others like her who can sing:

"Jesus is all the world to me,

My life, my joy, my all."