Over the past several years, I have been visiting one of my mother’s friends in a nursing home.   My mother passed away several years ago, and so our visits in the nursing home have meant as much to me as to the lady I visit.  We talk about my mother, the upcoming birth of my grandbabies, or catch up on news about people we both know.

Due to the fact that her health is deteriorating (she’s 90 years old), her hearing has gotten worse and it’s getting hard for her to talk.  Sometimes the words just won’t come out like she wants them to.  So, our past several visits have mostly been a one-sided conversation with me doing the talking and with her having a hard time hearing what I say.  This last visit, though, I didn’t talk much since she was straining to hear me.  I just sat there holding her hand and gently rubbing it.  After a while, she looked at me and said, “I like for you to rub my hands.  That feels good.  It makes me feel like someone cares about me.” Wow!  That really touched my heart and goes to show how much touching someone communicates love!