Thursday Thoughts – Long Walk

Years ago, I was invited to make an inspirational speech to a big group of young mothers during the holiday season.  I knew they were all overwhelmed preparing for family dinners and parties.  They were decorating their homes. They were baking cookies for parties at school. They were shopping and wrapping gifts.  They had set their own needs aside for awhile as they prepared for everyone else!  I knew these things because that was exactly what I was doing!

As I prepared my notes for the speech, I ran across a story in a book by Norman Vincent Peale that was very appropriate!  A young boy presented his missionary teacher an unusually beautiful seashell as a gift.  The boy had walked many miles to get the shell from a specific part of the coastline.  The teacher knew this and said to him, “You’ve traveled so far to bring me such a wonderful present.”   The boy was puzzled and excited and replied, “Oh, teacher … long walk is part of gift.”

My audience laughed and cried during my speech, and still today I get cards and calls from those young women who now have grown children and grandchildren!  We all learned together, that the long walk we were on was, indeed, a part of the gifts we were giving to our friends and families!

The staff at Integrity Healthcare Communities are on a long walk right now! For weeks, our staff have been planning special craft activities, parties and sing-alongs!  Staff have been decorating their facilities with beautiful wreaths and trees.  Dining room tables will be adorned with colorful centerpieces. Arrangements are being made for a variety of clubs, organizations and church groups to visit our facilities during this holiday season.  These things require extra time and lots of effort.   That is the long walk!

We know the residents and family members appreciate our walk.  They send us thank you cards. They stop in to tell us face-to-face that they know we worked hard!  Sometimes we forget to pat ourselves on the back, because we are humble.

We Are Integrity and We Provide Care You Can Trust!

 

 

Debbie Moore, Regional Director of Business Development    Integrity Healthcare Communities