“Things don’t always work out the way you want them to,” she said.

Her soft skin showed every bone in her hand as I held it while talking to this wonderful woman.

Her pure white hair was apparently earned through every challenging year of her life.

When she looked at me I could sense a gentle spirit behind those tired eyes.

“Sometimes,” she continued, “they are even better.”

I didn’t expect to hear that. I thought for sure she was going to say “they are even worse.”

We had been talking for a while. Well, she talked, I listened. All I asked was “How are you today?”

That took me on an unexpected journey through decades of illness, loss and great sadness.

Still, she had this incredible ability to see the good parts.

“I lost my momma when I was just three. I don’t remember much about her. Only what people told me. It was a very difficulttime because I had eight other siblings,” she said.

Then she always followed a sad time with…

“Sometimes…”

“Sometimes we children would laugh all day long. We just knew how to have fun.”

“My husband died in the mines. We didn’t have much at all at the time.”

She paused as she raised and lowered her head a few times.

“Sometimes, we felt like we had more than most. That was just because of the love we shared.”

“I lost two children in childbirth. I remember how empty my
life felt after carrying them so long.”

“Sometimes I can feel their hearts beat in my chest. I know it’s
them. They just don’t want me to forget them.”

Then finally she appeared tired and exhausted from talking so long.

“I must stop now,” she said. “I am sure you get bored listening to old folk talk about the past.”

“Sometimes, like today talking with you, I am blessed beyond measure,” I said.

She sat up and smiled at me as I walked away.

We have so much to learn. We have so much to share. We have so much to give instead of take.

Could it possibly be that some of the greatest lessons in life for us to learn are not our own?

Is it even possible for one person to struggle so much in life and still see positive, happy moments woven throughout it?

God sends people to me. They don’t always stay. They are just passing through to plant a seed, tell a story. But they remain
forever in my heart.

“Sometimes” two strangers become friends and never see each other again.

Bob Perks