Submitted by Tim O’Neill
I have been blessed with an amazing mother-in-law, Betty, who is now 93 years old. Betty has undoubtedly slowed down over the past twenty years, but at one time, she was a dynamo where neither I nor our kids could keep up with her on a neighborhood walk. Betty has been single for the past fifty years, so whenever my wife and I had a chance to get away (mostly on business trips), Betty would stay with our four children occasionally. We once asked the kids how they liked Grandma staying with them for several days, and our youngest broke the silence and said, “I like it because she gives us TWO Klondike ice cream bars after dinner.” Needless to say, we started stocking up on Klondikes because we found out that Betty also has a sweet tooth.
Betty recently flew to North Myrtle Beach to spend time with two of her other daughters. After a week at the beach, she flew home with one daughter who lives on the Ohio – Indiana border. I offered to meet them in Columbus and drive “mom” home to Aurora.
The trip to Aurora would typically take three hours from Columbus, but fifteen minutes into the trip back, we ran into brake lights that stretched on for over five miles (all due to a truck accident ahead). Our trip was magically extended by 90 minutes of stop-and-go traffic.
At first, I clenched my teeth and probably said something under my breath like, “Nice! God, please get us home sometime today”. Who really likes sitting in stopped traffic?
I always wondered where my wife got her fantastic ability to ask a question that wholly focuses on the one she is talking to. After twenty minutes of stopped traffic, the answer became known…Betty. She first started off by asking the typical questions about each one of the kids and their families, and then she redirected the questioning to my work and church activities. I shared with her that I was stepping in to teach an Adult Sunday School class, and she said, “Okay, let’s hear it.” The next hour breezed by, and she gave me some really great pointers and suggestions.
My family’s time with Betty is getting short, but God blessed me that day in delayed traffic. He made the world around me slow down so we could share our time together, a memory I will always cherish. In that hour, she made me feel like I was the most interesting person in those five miles of stopped traffic. Once the traffic started to move, she quickly fell asleep, and it struck me that this would be the last time I would ever have such a wonderful opportunity to spend four hours in a car with this extraordinary lady.
Grace Baptist Church has many “Bettys” walking through our doors each week. Many of them arrive alone and only need one person to say, “How are you today, or how has the Lord blessed you this week?” Don’t let a delay be the reason you finally stop to spend time with a “Betty” in your life. Sit back, slow down, listen to the amazing stories you will hear, and be blessed.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV) To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven…
Lamentations 3:25 (NKJV) The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.