The Lady with the Beautiful Smile

My heart sings with joy! I have a new friend and she has already been a blessing in my life. She is one of the most precious ladies I have ever met. I don’t think anyone could meet Pat and not walk away a different person, she’s just that amazing!

Yesterday I went to visit Tammy in the hospital. As I left her room, I happened to glance across the hall. There was a lady looking at me and smiling! I’m sure you wonder, “What’s so unusual about that?” I have been going to that hospital since August and have never walked by a room and seen a patient smile. NEVER! Pat is the first. That in of itself, says a lot about Pat. I stopped by her room on my way out and told her that I loved her smile. She smiled even more. As I walked home, I wondered about the lady with the beautiful smile.

I couldn’t get Pat off my mind and nothing would do, but for me to go back and meet her. Since Tammy was having a bad day, I thought I’d go back and check on her, and stop in and talk to the “lady with the beautiful smile.” Tammy was sleeping soundly, so I went in Pat’s room, introduced myself and asked if I could visit her. She smiled so brightly and said I could visit, come anytime, and as often as I wanted.

Like Tammy, Pat is on a trach, making it a challenge to communicate with her. After months of visiting Tammy, I’m much better at reading lips, so we were able to carry on a conversation with just a few missing words. A few minutes into the conversation I mentioned her smile. She said “It’s God.” I wasn’t surprised. It didn’t take me long to recognize that Pat is overflowing with faith, love and smiles. One of the nurses said they call her “Miss Smiley” because she’s always smiling. I stayed until the nurse took her for some tests. Pat made me promise that I would come back for a visit.

Later that afternoon I took some Bible verses and the alphabet printed out (to help with communication) to Pat. Her family was visiting so I got to meet them. I spent a few minutes talking with her family and left the Bible verses and alphabet with them.

Today I stopped in to see Pat on my way to visit Tammy. Pat was awake and smiling She asked me right off if I would read the Bible verses to her. I asked if she wanted me to put her name in the verses as I read them and she liked this idea. To give an example, I read Isaiah 26:3 like this, “Thou will keep Pat in perfect peace because Pat trusteth in thee.” In between verses, we talked about God, how amazing He is, and how much He loves us. A couple of times she looked at me and said, “You’re going to make me cry.” When I told Pat that I’m amazed at how well we communicate, she said to me, “It’s because we have a connection.” I thought she was going to make me cry with that one!

I told Pat that I am going to my parent’s house for Easter. When I told her that Dad has Alzheimer’s and Mom has Dementia, she looked at me and said, “Pray about that.” I shared with her that I have been, but sometimes I get weary and give up with my prayer requests. She looked at me and said, “Never give up!” Wow! Here I am hoping to brighten her life with a visit, and she’s encouraging and blessing me.

Sometimes the visits with Tammy are so emotionally draining for me. As God always does, He sends us just what we need, just when we need it the most. I’m thankful He sent Pat to me for encouragement and uplifting. I think of her as my sunshine on cloudy days.

"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our life is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see." Corrie Ten Boom