Bringing joy to others

Today I had to chance to bring joy to a couple of elderly individuals. One of these is a elderly lady who is celebrating her 96th birthday. Some folks from our church got together and brought her some cake and ice cream. Of course to her it was just the surprise that someone remembered her birthday and was wanting to celebrate it with her. She enjoyed the visit and the chance to talk with others much more than she enjoyed the cake and ice cream.
The other individual was my grandmother who is 95. She lives in the same facility as our birthday girl. Unfortunately I have not seen her in quite some time and this was my fault. I have not taken the time to call her or to go by and visit her. I realize now as I look back on my visit that for many of these individuals what brings them perhaps the most joy is someone who will take the time to come by and visit down and spend time with them. Someone will come by and listen to their stories of long ago. Just listening and spending time with someone can bring such joy to them and it is a blessing to us as well!