Living out ‘response ability’
Rolla Presbyterian Manor
By Mary Bridges, chaplain NOVEMBER 2021
Residents share what they’re thankful for Many Rolla Presbyterian Manor residents seem to intuitively understand the value of giving thanks. In recent years, experts in positive psychology have reported a link between gratitude and better mental, physical and emotional well-being. But the Presbyterian Manor residents we spoke to discussed thankfulness as a lifelong practice, often centered around prayer. Residents Joyce Tucket, Janet Brown, Fern Seest, Forrest O’Neal and Mary Ellen Bailey all give thanks to God when they pray. “When I say my prayers, I give thanks,” Joyce said — it’s just that simple for her and the other residents with whom we spoke. When Forrest prays, he thanks God specifically for his guidance and help.
Fern Seest
In addition to her prayers, Fern also contemplates her blessings when she’s talking to herself. For her, thankfulness comes “automatically.” We found common themes in what residents are thankful for, both over the course of their lives and since the beginning of the pandemic. When Joyce looks back on her life, she is thankful to be alive after a battle with cancer. She’s also grateful for her husband, her three daughters and her parents.
My father, Henry, was an eighthgrade graduate and smarter than anyone I have known. He was a lifelong Lutheran. He did not verbalize his faith or quote scripture; he simply lived it, every day. He cared for my grandmother when she lived alone. She was eventually diagnosed with dementia and moved into a nursing home. My father continued to visit her, even though she didn’t recognize him and no longer spoke. My father loved the land. After he retired from active farming, he leased a small amount of land north of Russell on Salt Creek. There he had a huge garden, and he shared his garden produce with everyone. One year, he raised turkeys. That November, he and my mom cleaned and dressed more than 20 turkeys, which my father distributed to family, friends and people he knew were struggling. He reserved one of those turkeys for a man who stopped to help my father change a tire earlier that year. That Thanksgiving season, and every day, my father exercised what the
Response ability
After the last couple of years, she is
Thankful – continued on page 2
NOTE: Our featured chaplain for November is Mary Bridges, chaplain at Salina Presbyterian Manor. Each month, we share a devotion from one of the chaplains around the PMMA® system in a nod to our faith-based roots in the Presbyterian Church.
– continued on page 2 Forrest O’Neal
Get the latest on visitation and COVID-19 at our campus at RollaPresbyterianManor.org/covid-19.
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