It was two and a half years ago that Eunice Cargo moved into Peakview Assisted Living. She’s been a beautiful part of this community. She knows the names of the residents and she smiles and greets them, often without reciprocation.
Enter, Juni.
Juni is our 15-month-old granddaughter, and Eunice’s great-granddaughter. On Monday morning, Juni and Alli (our daughter and Juni’s mom) arrived at Peakview for lunch. Juni’s shy smile and winsome joy were more infectious than the flu. Without an intelligible word, Juni commanded the attention of the room. All eyes shifted. Residents provided play by play descriptions of all that Juni ate and did.
This was the ultimate in geriatric show and tell. Juni had done it. She changed the climate in the dining room. She raised the level of cultural enthusiasm without a paintbrush or fresh carpeting. She had escalated the level of culinary satisfaction without altering anything on the menu. A child can do that. A child did that.
Anna, a prophetess, was in the Temple. She was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
Enter Anna. An 84-year-old widow who never left the temple. But one day, a child came to her. Hope entered the temple. And Anna knew that something transformational was about to happen. And so she told everyone. She simply couldn’t help herself. Jesus had arrived.
An elderly widow and an infant from Bethlehem. Humble meeting humble. An endorsement for the ages. God often confirms His majesty through the lives of the overlooked. He amplifies the voice of those who can barely whisper.
In Eunice I caught a glimpse of Anna. Unfettered joy. Unconstrained love.
And in Juni I catch a fleeting glimpse at what a child can do…
Vulnerable, but ever so powerful.
Tiny but large.
Speechless but a master communicator.
A child. Life. Hope.
Juni at Peakview gives us a fractional view of Jesus in Jerusalem.
Anna. A heart that exploded with hope. A witness to the salvation of the world.
And indeed, He was and He is. To the delight of every expectant heart.
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