Remembering Sarah

Prayer chapel: St. Ambrose, prie dieu, votive candles.

I lit a candle this morning for my grandmother, who was born 111 years ago.

When she was 16, kidney disease made her severely ill. She was miserable during her two months in the hospital and wrote that she "wanted to die." Her kindly doctor, one Grover Batten, continually encouraged her, saying that she had much to live for.

After she recovered, Sarah lived the rest of her life with serenity and gratitude, the outlook of many who have been given a second chance. That is how I remember her, and I still miss her.