God Sent an Angel Name Shirley

When it finally sunk in that Mother did not want to pursue any additional treatment for her cancer and that we wouldn't have that much longer with her, we knew that Hospice was the right choice for her. We were faced with the decision whether or not we could bring her back to our home (her home for the last 5 years) or if we needed to take her to a nursing home. Mother told me she would like to come home if my wife and I could care for her.

A sister visiting from the northwest was adamantly opposed to me taking Mother home with us. She was convinced I would be incapable of caring for her and that she might be harmed. A sister-in-law called me discouraging me from bringing Mother home. She had lost her own mother many years ago and was with her during her last days. She feared the negative impact having Mother at home with us would have on our three kids. Torn between this input from my family and my desire to satisfy my mother's wishes to come home, I agonized over the decision.

Over the next couple of days, I prayed, talked with my wife, other family members and many friends about the decision. My wife and I were in agreement that we would attempt to honor Mother's wishes and bring Mother home and see if we could care for her.

The day finally came for us to bring her home. I went to the hospital with my sister, who was still opposed to us bringing Mother back home. My wife stayed home to get our kids off to school.

While waiting for the paperwork to be finalized, my cellphone rang. I stepped out of Mother's room to take the call. After I finished the call, I noticed one of the hospital janitors looking at me. I had seen her several times over the past several days and often she would be running the vacuum cleaner when I stepped out of the room to take a phone call. She would always smile at me and turn off the vacuum cleaner until I was finished with my call.

She asked me if I was taking my mom home today. I told her we were with Hospice care. She told me that she had done the same thing for her mother-in-law about 5 years earlier. As we talked, I learned her name was Shirley.

Shirley had a very interesting story to tell. In many ways, it mirrored my own experiences. She and her husband had taken her mother-in-law into their home. She had lived with them for about 5 years when her mother-in-law was diagnosed with terminal cancer. They too had chosen to bring her back home and care for her with the help of Hospice.

Like us, they too had 3 children at home at the time. She told how she had stayed home to care for her mother-in-law and that it had been a wonderful experience. They had put a hospital bed in the living room for her mother-in-law. She told a story of how they had planned a big birthday celebration for her and that everyone in the trailer court came to wish her well. I thought, wow, this woman lived in a mobile home, took in her mother-in-law and felt blessed to have the opportunity to care for her. Given all of the material blessings God had given us including a nice house with an extra room for Mother, I knew bringing her home was the right thing to do.

After my wife got our kids to school, she came to the hospital. Not finding me in Mother's room, she started walking the halls looking for me. She found me hugging the janitor. I introduced her to Shirley and briefly shared Shirley's story with her.

Both my wife and I no longer had any doubts that we were doing the right thing by bringing Mother back home with us. It was if God sent an angel named Shirley to assure us we had made the right decision.

Postscript February 20, 2016 
While shopping at our local Walmart, I noticed a cleaning lady coming out of the restrooms. As I walked past her, I smiled and nodded at her. She returned my smile and I noticed she was wearing a name tag that said, “Shirley”. I stopped and asked her if she had worked at Baylor Hospital. When she told me she had, I knew it was the same person.

I shared my story with her of the first time we met and how much she had meant to me. She told me that when she had started working at Baylor she had prayed that God would make her a blessing to people. I told her that her prayers had been answered and that I considered her an answer to my prayers.

How blessed I am to have been able to meet her and thank her in person for the wonderful blessing she had been to me over eight years ago. Just as God put her in my path 8 years ago, I’m convinced he again allowed us to meet to help me remember the many acts of kindness I have received and to focus me on committing those same acts for others.