09 March 2012

God's Grace

A conversation between me and a friend:

Me: My house is a mess. I have to clean it up before the lady who cleans my house comes over tomorrow.
Her: Isn't that her job?
Me: Well sure, but in the state it's in, it'll take her a long time. I'd rather get some of it done so she doesn't have so much to do.
Her: Ooookay. So you don't want to pay extra?
Me: No, no. She wouldn't charge extra. She'll just stay longer and then not let me pay her. And anyway, I was raised by my mother, and she'd be horrified if anyone saw the house like this.
Her: Hello?
Me: Okay, well you don't count, obviously.
Her: Right, of course not. So what are you going to do? Vacuum up the dirt and crumbs?
Me: Hell no. She'll vacuum regardless of whether it's done or not. She'll decide it's dirty and do it.
Her: Don't you tell her what to clean?
Me: hahaha. Clearly you don't understand the relationship this lady and I have. She comes to my house on Friday for 2 paid hours. She cleans whatever she wants to, however she wants to, which is to say, FAR better than I ever would. She stays as long as she likes and does as much or as little as she wants. She fixes my knitting while she's here, because I still haven't figured out how to pick up dropped stitches, she tells me about her kids, her grandkids, and her great-grandkids...
Her: Wait. How old is she?
Me: 78.
Her: OMG.
Me: I know. I wish I had that kind of energy. Anyway, she goes on about them, and then about how wonderful I am. Maybe tells me about how evil yoga is.
Her: *laughs*
Me: No, she's serious. Evil. Like her friend's soul went straight to hell. And evil priests knew she was Christian and hated her.
Her: Ummm....
Me: Yeah, I know. But whatever. So anyway, she comes over, cleans the house, talks, jokes, plays with the kids, and then, usually 4 or 5 hours later, utterly refuses to take a single extra penny. AND, what's more, she babysits when I have emergencies - like the MRI that was sprung on me -  and has informed me that it is insulting to be offered money for that, because she's doing God's work and she doesn't think I should argue with God.
Her: This woman is Awesome.
Me: I know. And what's hilarious? Her name is Grace. As in, "God's Grace"? A certain Someone appears to have a sense of humour.
Her: Yeah, no doubt!
Me: Pop calls her "Great". He's right.

Grace truly is a gift from God. I love her. Sure, she's a bit wacky, and we most certainly do not agree on a lot of scripture interpretations, but she's the single kindest person I've ever met. And she's not in a position to turn down money, which is why I keep trying to pay her. But I'm going to have to stop, because she's getting offended. But it's really hard to take anything from someone with so little. She's so generous, and it seems to truly give her joy to help, so I'm trying. But eesh.