It teaches in the bible that when you do something for one of Gods less fortunate children you are doing it for him also. This was a lesson that she learned well as a child. Now she sits in a nursing home debilitated with multiple sclerosis watching as they call the bingo game. A volunteer sits beside her marking her bingo card with the hope of winning and getting to call out bingo for her. She is in her early forties unable to move her body. Unable to feed herself, dress herself or do any other of lifes simplest tasks. It takes great effort and considerable time for her to speak even a few words.

I asked one of the nurses why she would come down to the bingo game. I could not imagine that watching someone else play bingo for you could be much fun. The answer shocked me, humbled me, and to be quite honest made me ashamed of myself. This young woman, unable to do anything for herself was playing bingo for the less fortunate. The less fortunate? I could not imagine anyone less fortunate than her! She was young, totally debilitated, unable to do anything for herself and barely able to ask anyone else for help.

She did not see it that way. She knew her life was good even blessed. She had a nice bed, a roof over her head, food, medicine, and most important of all she had lots of friends who loved and cared about her.

When she would win a bingo game the prize was a nickle. When she won blackout the prize was a quarter. Some of the others would complain about the small amount, what can you buy with a quarter let alone a nickle? But not her. She saved every nickle and every quarter she won. When she would have thirty or thirty-five dollars saved she would get a money order and send it to her favorite charity. She knew there are other people who are less fortunate than her. People who would go to bed hungry, people who did not even have a bed to go to hungry. People with no way to buy medicine that they need to live. Worst of all there are people who have no one to love them. She was right her life really was blessed and she wanted to share that with others who did not have as much as she did.

I was shocked, humbled, and embarrassed about the amount of time I spent whining about the problems in my life. Finding people who are less fortunate than we are is really not that hard for most of us. I realized that happiness does not come from having everything we want. It comes from being thankful for what we have and then sharing that with others. I thank that angel in her broken body for teaching me such a valuable life lesson.