Blessed by Being Famous in a Small Town

Living in a small town community, I often take for granted living in a small town community. Sometimes it's great that everybody knows your name and sometimes you just want your own space. I can't go anywhere in this town without somebody asking how my mom's doing with her treatment and at least once a week someone who stops me at the store has tears in their eyes as they talk about my mom. It's emotionally draining. And I'm reminded by Miranda Lambert's song "Famous in a Small Town" that there are both good and bad about living in small town community.

But we are BLESSED by living in a small town. The ladies that worked with my mom at the nursing home put together a benefit dinner and auction for this past Saturday. As people gathered in for the dinner, I was more than proud of the community that I live in; I was so happy that this is where we live. More than 60 families were in attendance at my mom's benefit. I was overcome with emotion as I watched families who live in our rural area, who often live paycheck to paycheck, donate large sums of money and purchase items at the auction for a rediculously high amount. Tears streamed down my face as I watched in awe of these wonderful people in our lives. I literally had to take an emotional break from the room and thank God for the gift of our small town.

Another part of the small town community is that you actually build bonds with people around you. Like I said earlier, I can't go anywhere without people asking me about my mom or telling me stories of my mom and how she has affected their lives by taking care of a family member when she worked at the nursing home. Even the Police Chief came by the benefit, still in uniform of course. The outpouring of love and support of these great people cannot be compared to that of any other place, I don't think. We're blessed by being here.

The goal of the benefit was to assist us in covering my mom's medical costs and travel expenses. This great community provided our family with that and more. It did my mom's spirits good to see how many people care about her and were willing to do whatever to help us in whatever way they could. What a true blessing.

Thanks will never be enough.