"I've called three different nursing homes - I haven't found one with an Esther Powell," Mrs. Stevens told Logan and Larissa.
"Great!" Hallie interjected as she hung up the phone. "Good Shepherd Nursing Home has an Esther Powell in Room 223," she informed the others. "The receptionist said that we can visit anytime!"
"That's great, Hallie," Mrs. Stevens told her daughter. "Let's get ready to go and Larissa can ask her parents if she can come, too. But we need to remember, even though we have some of Mrs. Powell's pictures and diaries and we know quite a bit about her, she doesn't know us or anything about us. We don't know how her health is, either. Let's remember to take it slow and be understanding."
~~~
Once everyone was in the car and they started for Good Shepherd Nursing Home, Hallie opened the diary Mrs. Powell wrote when she was twelve years old and began reading. "August 3, 1929. Today I met Mrs. Anderson. She is about eighty years old. She was kind. She gave me a wooden figurine. Love, Esther." Hallie closed the book and wondered what it would have been like to be twelve years old in 1929.
"We're here!" Mrs. Stevens announced.
~~~
"Here's Room 223," Larissa whispered to Hallie.
"Go ahead, honey. We're right behind you," Mrs. Stevens assured Hallie.
Hallie knocked on the door. "Come in," they heard a feeble voice say. Slowly, Hallie opened the door.
"Mrs. Powell?" she asked.
A frail woman looked up from her reading. "Yes?" she answered.
"My name is Hallie Stevens; my family and I live in your old house. We found some things that might be yours."
Logan brought the box of mementos to Mrs. Powell. "Oh, yes," Mrs. Powell gushed excitedly. "My, these bring back memories," she smiled as she picked up some of the old photos.
For a moment no one spoke as she lovingly looked through her long-lost treasures. Finally Mrs. Stevens broke the silence. "Mrs. Powell, if it's okay with you, we would love to hear more about these," she gently suggested.
Mrs. Powell leaned back in her chair. "My husband George and I got married in 1939, right before World War II. We were married fifty-three years."
"Where did you get this?" Hallie asked, handing Mrs. Powell the wooden figurine of an open Bible.
Mrs. Powell fingered the decoration in her hands and read softly, 'Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.'" After a moment's pause she continued. "A lady named Mrs. Anderson gave this to me," she said.
"Oh," Hallie remembered. "I read about her in one of the diaries."
"Yes!" Mrs. Powell smiled at Hallie. "My parents became Christians when I was around your age, largely due to Mrs. Anderson's example and testimony. Mrs. Anderson gave this to me to remind me to spend my one short life only on things that matter."
"Did you?" Logan spoke up.
Hallie glared at Logan. "That's not very polite," she whispered.
Mrs. Powell noticed Hallie's reprimanding look. "Oh, no, I'd love to answer his question," she interrupted them. "No, young man, unfortunately I didn't. I was a Christian, but I didn't count the days."
"Count the days?" Larissa was confused.
"Yes; Psalm 90:12 says, 'So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.' All of us have a limited time on earth. When I was your age, it felt like my adult years were decades away, but once I was an adult, the years passed by all to quickly. I wish I had realized that at your age." Mrs. Powell looked at Hallie. "I wish I had followed the advice of this figurine when I was younger. Life is short - we want to live it for a purpose, and only Jesus Christ is a purpose great enough." Mrs. Powell handed the figurine back to Hallie. "Here, I want you to have this. When you see it, remember me, and remember that life is short."
"Are you sure?" Mrs. Stevens asked.
"Definitely," Mrs. Powell asserted. "I want to give it to someone who will remember - and live - its message."
"Thank you," was all Hallie could say as she felt the privilege of receiving what had been given to Mrs. Powell many years before.
~~~
That night, before bedtime, Hallie settled into her bed with her diary and opened it to a blank page. She started to write, but then paused and picked up a wooden figurine of an open open Bible. Hallie read what was written under the Bible: "Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last." Hallie set it down and began to write. "Today I met Mrs. Powell. Psalm 90:12 says..."
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