There is nothing more painful than saying goodbye to a loved one.
That is especially true for people who have been together for many years. Those who are happily married and been with each other through thick and thin? They often have the hardest time losing their significant other.
How do they go on? What can they do to fill the void in their life? Can they find love in their heart again?
It’s a challenge that we all will face at one point in our lives. Sometimes we can withdraw in our grief. We can reject the world and turn inward.
But maybe we can all learn from Lee Etta. After losing her husband, she didn’t give up. She didn’t become overcome with grief.
Instead she returned to the hospital where her husband died, every day, for this one reason.
From Little Things:
Lee Etta’s husband Phillip passed away in 2007 at the age of 80 of lung disease. He served 22 years in the U.S. Air Force as an air traffic controller. After retiring from the military, he spent the rest of his life working in education. He was a devoted husband of 54 years, father to their two sons and three daughters, and loving grandfather.
After Phillip’s death, Lee Etta began volunteering at MountainView Hospital — the same hospital where he passed away. Lee Etta relished in working alongside the same people who provided her husband with such good care in his final days.
It’s now been 10 years, and Lee Etta has found a new purpose in life. Though she’s technically retired, the volunteering became a full-time job. She’s able to ease those who spend their days in the hospital, scared and worried.
“I love people and I love to help them,” she says, “and the more people I help, the better I feel.”
Imagine the pain Lee experienced in seeing her husband pass away. Yet instead of giving up, she is giving back.
For the last ten years, she been helping people at the hospital. Many of them are suffering the same kind of problems she and her husband faced. Her generosity and kindness is helping them get through their worst times.
Despite our pain and challenges, we can find hope in each other. Perhaps more of us can learn from Lee’s example and give back even when we’ve suffered loss.
Source: Little Things
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