Mrs. Hasell's Gift

 Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he,

I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

I went to visit my most favorite teacher ever – my third grade teacher, Mrs. Hasell. She seemed like she was 103 years old when she taught me, but she really was 103 upon my visit. Her small frail body was all clenched up like a fist in the center of a hospital bed that was set up in her home. I could barely hear her speak let alone discern her words, so her daughter came over to translate for me. “What do you want, Mother? This cabinet? Which shelf? Which piece? This one?” And as she turned from the cabinet, her daughter held a golden butterfly, covered in glitter – the one I had made for my most favorite teacher so many years ago. It is now my most prized possession. It is not for us to decide when someone no longer has value. Each of us is precious (and still useful) to Him.