Mardi Gras with the LSPs

Today we had a big Mardi Gras party at the Little Sisters home in philly! There were floats, cakes, candy, a big, fancy dinner, dancing, and all sorts of extravaganzas! The residents were dancing and parading and eating.

One story I thought I would share. One woman was quite distraught as she feared not getting home and began to get quite emotional. As I tried to calm her with reason, I realized that logic is not what helps anyone when they are emotionally distraught... well not usually. It is LOVE! And so, I took her wheelchair with me as we moved to a more open area of the room and we began to dance. With the music playing in the background, we moved across the floor and her common remarks began, "oh stop this!" "You are too much!" "Oh now, you are just going to get tired." This woman will protest with the best of them, but if you continue to love and engage her, a smile will peek through her guarded exterior. This little smile began, "I see a smile" I comment and immediately there is a reply, "Oh no you don't!" "Oh yes I do!" "Oh, alright"

How often we do the same, it is easy to be where we are and stay there. Easy to simply say, I am not happy and I am going to stay that way. When the Lord or a friend comes to dance or to sheer us up, we can remain in our shell and try to hide from the joy they are bringing to us until it is just beyond us! We can no longer hide and actually have so much that, as my dear little dance partner exclaimed at the end of the dance, "hey, why don't you get her [another resident] to dance!", desirous of spreading our new-found joy to others so that they too are able to escape their shells.