Dignity in Action

BJ Reese

There’s a woman at our church named Ruby, who is in her mid-90s. I had seen her when I first began attending, but never paid much attention at the time. That is, until the day she traded a cane for a walker. Maybe I first noticed it because it was in my old high school colors: red and black. That would be the superficial reason – the one that made me take a second look.

However, there was more to it as I watched her roll up to a table in the Fellowship Hall, turn the walker around, and sit down on the built-in seat. What I saw is best described by one word. It is a word I hear in my mind every time I see Ruby or think of her. Dignity. It is evident in everything she does.

As Ruby rolled her new walker-with-a-seat up to that table, she did it as though it was the most natural thing in the world. She held her head erect. I see this same quality when she’s sitting in church, listening to the sermon. Her posture is impeccable. She sits tall and straight, with her entire countenance fully focused on the music or the message.

If you mention it to her, Ruby will say it’s because she has to listen extra hard . . . her hearing and eyesight are poor these days. But as I observe her from my own seat across the aisle, I see something else. I see a woman who sits with a purpose.

Watching Ruby move through our church and participate in what’s happening there has been an education for me. Through the tremendous dignity with which she carries herself, I’ve learned a valuable lesson. Each and every one of us should accept ourselves exactly as we are. Whatever our limitations, we should carry on in spite of them.

Ruby is a living picture of what God wants us to remember each and every day of our lives. He loves us just exactly the way we are. When the gift of life allows us to stay here on this Earth a long time, we should rejoice.

We should hold our heads up and carry on. Walk through each day as though we are exactly where we are supposed to be. Without shame; without regret; without complaining. With dignity and grace. The dignity and grace that belong to a child of the King. Just like Ruby does. Thanks, Ruby, for showing us what this looks like.

To His Glory . . . BJ