Last month, I shared some life lessons from Pennsylvania. The next stop on our trip on the East Coast was the Shenandoah Valley where I grew up. 

I got to show Matt the James Madison campus where I got my bachelors (and told him how they’re so proud to be the only university with both a train track and an interstate running through). I showed him around my hometown, with the tree I planted as an American Heritage Girl for my last service project bringing awareness to veteran suicide (the plaque looks neglected, but we did our best to clean it up). We went and walked around at a park I frequented growing up, I showed him why I miss Krogers, and we got to eat at a little ‘50s diner that I love. Almost as good as Friendly’s. 

We met my pastor and his wife for dinner, and met with my old violin teacher, too. It was so great getting to talk with them and learn more about what’s been going on after I moved, and to hear how happy they were to see us and their advice for the future. 

Matt and I went to my church that Sunday morning and that was probably the happiest two hours of my trip (the trip was great overall, except for the flying, but I loved being home with them). I loved getting to talk to everyone and introduce Matt, they all loved him, and we walked away with so many stories and hugs and pictures. 

But my favorite visit I made was to an elderly couple who went to church, and who were essentially adoptive grandparents. Both of my grandfathers died before I was born, but there were several older couples in the church who would step into that role.

We stopped by their home because they’re not doing too good in their older years. He was a Vietnam veteran, with a wartime story that he just won’t share. He’s been having lots of medical issues, and now struggles to walk. But he picks fun and is as goofy as ever. He’s always picked on people, whether it be his wife or us, but he’s always been nice and funny about it, unlike how some people just seem to be mean when they do it. He was still poking fun at his wife and telling Matt to run – it’s not too late! 

His wife is the sweetest lady I know. She’s had Parkinson’s for many years, with it getting worse as time goes on. She used to sing in the choir, but quit a few years ago due to her voice being so unsteady now. She’s the lady that I hinted at in my article How to Live Your Life:

“If you were talking to someone who knew they were dying, and asked them how you should live your life, what do you think they would tell you? 

They probably wouldn’t tell you that a 4am morning routine with a daily matcha and yoga session is mandatory for a great life. Instead, they’ll probably tell you to spend time with those you love – you never know when the last time you’ll ever see them will be. They’d tell you to find a job that makes you happy (nothing too extreme, just don’t hate your work) and to go and see the world and visit people you can’t see often. How do I know? Because I’ve chatted with someone who is dying, and this is the advice she gave me and my husband (I’ll share more of her story later).” 

Now, she has stage four terminal cancer, and the medicine is just making her feel okay. She told us that she’s just sticking around for her husband, since he’s so picky and then he retorted with a joke about her taking too much care of him and not letting him sleep when he wants to. At the time we visited, her son and daughter in law had been killed about a month prior by a tree falling on their car on their way home from church on a non-stormy day. She talked about him, and you could hear her voice waver more than normal. The amount of times I nearly burst into tears visiting them (I never did), although I can’t say that writing this I didn’t shed one or two. 

Everything in her life is going wrong. Her husband is dying, and she knows she is dying too. Her son and daughter in law had just died. That would make most people bitter, or at least disheartened in the world. But she told us that she’d told God He broke her heart when her son died. She looked right at us and said that it’s okay to tell God when He breaks your heart. But that she also told Him she knew He had a plan, and whatever that was, she was okay with it, even though He’d just broken her heart. 

I sat in their living room, looking at two people who played such an important role in my life and who I miss dearly. They’re both dying, and yet neither of them are upset with God. They’re not all doom and gloom and woe is me. Sitting on those floral couches, I realized that she has so much faith. I don’t know that I would have that much faith. My husband is dying, death is staring me down, and my son was just killed. I think I would be angry at God, asking why it had to be me. And yet here she is, talking about it and how she knows God has a plan, and even though He broke her heart, she knows that He has a better plan. 

Their advice to us was to find a job that made us happy – one where we could still spend plenty of time at home, but one that didn’t make us dread going each morning. They also said it’s important to travel and see people you love, even if you can’t see them often, you never know when will be the last, and it’s good to have people close to you. And to always trust in God’s plan, even if it may not be what we thought it was. 

It seemed we were there only 30 minutes when we had to get up and leave to make it in time to see someone for dinner. We were there for a couple of hours, and I loved every second of it. I miss them so much, but I will always remember this visit. I’ll always remember my immediate impression of her faith when she was talking. I almost burst into tears as she was telling me. She has the most faith of anyone I know, and I can only hope that one day, I’ll have that much.

If you are not 100% sure that you’ll go to Heaven when you die, now is the time to repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you have any questions or doubts about your salvation, click here to learn how you can be saved!

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