Chapter 65 Chapter 16 Please protect me from being sent to an orphanage

As long as you are not seriously ill or injured, and you can still walk and eat, you are the happiest person in the world; as long as you are alive, you are the luckiest person in the world. As a child, my life was filled with fear.My mother had a heart attack and often passed out on the floor.We were all terrified that she would die suddenly one day.In my mind, little girls who lost their mothers were sent to Central Wesleyan Orphanage, which is located in Warrington, Missouri, where we live.I was even more frightened at the thought of being sent there.I used to pray when I was 6 years old: "Dear God, please let my mother live until I grow up and don't have to go to an orphanage."

Twenty years later, older brother Mailer was injured and suffered terribly.He couldn't eat or turn over in bed.To ease his pain, I had to inject him with morphine every 3 hours, night and day.I was teaching music at Central Wesleyan College in town, and whenever the neighbors heard my brother crying out in pain, they would call the school, and I immediately put down my stick and rushed home to give my brother an injection.Every night before going to bed, I set the alarm clock to 3 hours later so that I can get up to serve my brother.I still remember, on winter nights, I always put the milk out of the window, let it freeze, and turned it into my favorite ice cream.The ice cream outside the window also became another reason for me to get up every time the alarm went off.

In such a difficult situation, I took two actions to keep myself from falling into self-pity, annoyance, and regret. First, I kept myself so busy that I taught music for 12-14 hours a day that I didn't have time to think about the worries.Whenever I feel sad, I say to myself over and over again: "Listen, as long as you can walk, eat, and don't suffer from serious illness, you are the happiest person in the world. Don't forget , no matter what difficulties you encounter, as long as you are still alive, you are the luckiest person!" I want to be thankful for my happiness.Every morning I wake up and thank God for getting out of bed, walking to the table, and making breakfast for myself.I deeply appreciate that despite all the difficulties I have encountered, I am still the happiest person in Warrington, Missouri.Although I didn't achieve much, I managed to establish myself as the most grateful woman in town, and few of my colleagues had as much hope in life as I did.

(Editor's note: Keep yourself busy so you don't have time to fret; be grateful for your own well-being. This Missouri music teacher offers us two principles that may work for you, too.)