Mr. Griffin is retired from the United States Navy and has been inspiring me for two and a half years. I had the pleasure of visiting with him today, and a few sentences into our conversation it dawned on me... I wish you could be there. To see what I see. To hear what I hear. To reap what he sows.
So, I proposed the idea, and he agreed to meet you, too.
Mr. Griffin was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1987, which was probably 5-10 years after the onset of his initial symptoms. He has been a nursing home resident for "a little over nine years". He relinquished his driver's license on his 63rd birthday, and he lives as gracefully and gratefully as anyone I've ever known.
When I asked how he was getting along, he replied that things were the same, and God is good. And then he said, I mean...
I wish... I could still walk...
I wish...I could roll over in bed on my side, like I used to...
I wish... I could still go to my church. I always feel loved, but there, it was something special. They were my extended family.
And as he talked, I realized I have his wishes in spades. I carry out his top three wishes hourly and daily and weekly and monthly and yearly and am rarely even conscious that I'm doing them, much less grateful for this same fact.
I park as close as I can to wherever I'm going, so I have to walk less. I'm annoyed if I'm rolling over in bed because it means I'm uncomfortable and awake enough to make a decision of any kind. I enjoy going to church, but that doesn't mean I don't grumble about changing clothes or routinely explain to my precious offspring that they don't "have" to go to church, they "get" to.
Mr. Griffin doesn't chastise me for my cluelessness or ingratitude. He doesn't have to. I'm immediately and painfully aware in his presence. It is one of his many gifts to me.
I asked him if there was anything else he wanted you to know and I wrote it down as he was saying it...
God is good, every day.
He is the same yesterday as He will be tomorrow.
He has never given up on me, so I will never give up on Him.
I feel blessed, in a way, for how long it took from my initial diagnosis to going to a nursing home, because I know people who went from being diagnosed to becoming a quadriplegic in 2.5-3 months. Everybody with MS is different. I'm not sure why that is, but if it wasn't for my belief in God, I probably wouldn't be here now.
Because if you don't have something to pin your hopes to, you'll give up...
And hope is what we've got.
Hope, that when we leave this earth, there is a God who will take care of us and restore our bodies.
One day, I will be able to walk, and maybe run,
jump, clap my hands, and praise God.
Like in Amazing Grace, when we've been there for 10,000 years, it will be like an instant. Because there is never enough time to praise God.
And to all of this, I say...Thank you, Mr. Griffin. Thank you for being you. Thank you for having your perspective and sharing it. Thank you for being the face of perseverance, gratitude, and hope, as I (and now we) count our blessings this Thanksgiving. May God continue to bless you and yours in abundance, as He blesses us through you. Amen.
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