Learning to laugh and take delight in the simple joys that come in life is crucial to receiving the multitude of blessings that come our way. In addition to teaching me the importance of fearlessly approaching death and of offering up sacrifices for the salvation of souls, Sr. Grace Anne (T.O.R.) taught me what it really meant to remain young at heart.

Although I never came down with a bad case of the “I’m-to-old-to-do-that-now syndrome” that most teenagers go through at some point, I still struggled with my boundaries – what exactly was I too old or too young to do? Of course I was faithful to my personality and terribly overcomplicated the matter as I pondered it in my mind. During the time I spent weekly with the Sisters, volunteering in Religious Articles, eighty year old Sr. Grace Anne showed me that even when we are physically grown up, we still can, and should, remain children in spirit.

One day I walked into the Religious Articles room and I found a male teddy bear, clad in orange overalls, calmly sitting next to the clock on one of the work desks. Upon seeing him, I asked Sr. Grace Anne where he had come from since I had a female bear, dressed in a red and white checkered dress that looked rather similar. She replied that it belonged to one of the other sisters, and she told me that I should bring in my bear for comparison.
The next week I obediently brought in Grace, actually named after Sr. Grace Anne, and Sister, upon carefully studying the year they were made and where they were made (I believe they were made the same year), came to the conclusion that they were separated as children. To make matters sound a little more exciting, she added in a dramatic whisper that they were probably twins. To celebrate the reunion, Sr. Grace Anne propped up Grace next to her “brother” and while Sister and I went back to work, we allowed them some time to “catch up.”

If I ever received a gift that I knew Sr. Grace Anne would enjoy seeing, I would bring it with me to show her and she would delightedly look over and admire it. One of my birthday presents was a collection of coasters made from the perler beads that can be ironed. Soon after my birthday, I took the Lord of the Rings themed coasters to show Sr. Grace Anne, who shares my love of the trilogy.  She loved and admired the hobbit hole, hobbits, and swords that my creative siblings had assembled. Then I explained to her that the few remaining ones, Shelob, the One Ring, Gandalf’s horse - Shadowfax, and Frodo’s sword - Sting, contained glow-in-the-dark beads. Clapping her hands in excitement, she grabbed two of them, walked hastily across the room, switched off the lights and waved them at me. Through the dim glow of the beads, I could faintly see her joyful face, and hear her thrilled giggling.
In the book of Matthew, chapter eighteen, verse three, Jesus tells His apostles, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven (NAB).” Joy plays an important part in becoming like children who become excited in events as simple as the possibility of "related" teddy bears or glow-in-the-dark beads.

We may grow older every day, but we should never grow so old in spirit that we are no longer able to take delight in simple matters. Youth helps us enjoy life, and it is this joy-filled approach that keeps us young at heart.