Free at Heart

Everyone felt sorry for Karen, and no wonder! Her husband, only in his forties, had suffered from a debilitating muscular disease for more than a decade. Now he no longer left his bedroom. Karen and her family spent countless hours nursing, feeding, lifting, and turning Ray. She sang and played Christian music for him every day.

Sometimes Ray appeared to recognize her and their three teenagers, but often he didn’t. Occasionally his long, bony hands reached for Karen’s; mostly he stared. Ray no longer tried to make the guttural sounds that formed his speech. The doctor could not tell Karen whether Ray understood anything she said or did.

Her friends wondered why she didn’t die of boredom and depression. But Karen enjoyed many days more than others whose families possessed perfect health. She created greeting cards on her computer to send to friends and family. She baked two big loaves of a new bread recipe: one to share with neighbors and one to help fill up her teens’ empty stomachs. Karen’s smile lit up the garbage man’s day, traveled over the Internet to cheer a friend who’d lost her father, and brightened the heart of God because He saw that Karen knew how to live free.