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Savvy Senior: You're never too old to volunteer
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Anonymous user Thu Mar 23, 2006 13:08:25 PST
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0 responses 0 comments Hi, I'm Betty Madsen, your senior columnist.

I've been in senior health care for 37 years. I'm currently serving as the activities director for Glenwood Gardens.

Wow, how time goes by! Especially when we hit retirement age. I'll be turning 60 this year and I can still see that 19-year-old girl in Plain View, Texas, starting out a career as an activities director.

My job has always been a mission project for me. I know the Lord has me where I am.

Retiring is a very odd passage in our lives. I hear seniors say, "There is nothing to do."

But let us not forget Moses and the Book of Exodus. He was well into his 40s when God called to him. Moses was a very clever man and gave all kinds of reasons why God should send someone else. But God wouldn't let go of Moses, and used him even into his 80s.

If you look through the Bible, you can see there God uses the wise elders for a purpose.

We had a very dear resident whose name was Jeannie. She lost sight in both of her eyes within two weeks, so she chose to come to Glenwood to get the care she needed.

She adjusted well for her first year. But in her second year of blindness it really hit her that she would never see again, and her spirits started to sink.

We had just started a book club with our elementary school, so I asked Jeannie if she would be a tutor, too.

She said, "Why, I can't do that, I'm blind."

I said to Jeannie,"You can listen to the children, and if they stumble on a word have them spell it out to you. You'll be great!"

I hadn't told the elementary school I had a blind reading tutor. Surprise –– they had the same initial response as Jeannie –– so I shared my idea. We agreed we would see in two weeks how things were going.

At the end of two weeks, Jeannie's spirits were sky-high. The school and the kids loved her dearly.

In fact, one day one of our other senior volunteers told Jeannie she needed to hurry up. When Jeannie asked why, the other volunteer said, "Because you have the longest line of kids who want to read to you."

What I hope to do in this column is spotlight interesting, active seniors, and share with readers what fun things there are for seniors to do in Kern County.

The point is, God can use anyone He wants. Moses had his share of problems, and so did Jeannie. But they became useful, and were loved by God for their obedience.

So if you think you're too old to volunteer, call me at 587-0221 and I'll help you find what it is that only you can do.

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