COGWA Members App
Feast App
ROKU AppMaking a Difference, One Child at a Time
Written by Dee Kilough
Myrtle Sullivan didn’t allow her disabilities to define her. She found ways to show her love, and the children at church loved her back!
The children are adults now, but they knew and loved Mrs. Sullivan when they were little:
- “She was my favorite person at church, and I remember running up to her every week.”
- “I was too young then, but looking back, I can see how much she served us, took care of us.”
- “I loved her so much!”
- “I still have her blankets—my kids use them now.”
- “I took her blanket with me to college, it was my favorite.”
Every week at church the children flocked around Mrs. Sullivan, and she always took time to speak with each of them, asking about their week and obviously delighting in their company.
The feeling was clearly mutual. A child rarely left her without getting a big hug—one of those “warm down to your toes,” all-enveloping type hugs, made even grander by her somewhat ample figure. To put it simply, when they left her, they knew she genuinely loved them, and their big smiles proved that!
Determined to make a positive difference
Children had not always come to Myrtle, and it was almost impossible for her to go to them. Why? She was an elderly widow, legally blind, and crippled by aggressive arthritis. However, she never allowed those disabilities to define her. Instead, she was determined to make a positive difference in service to God and those around her.
The question was how, with her limitations, could she do that? Her response to a tough situation was to pray and meditate about her dilemma, and the solution came in a beautiful plan that made those around her better people.
Vitamins and labors of love
A mother herself, Myrtle remembered how much most kids love something sweet, so she decided to only wear dresses with pockets—pockets filled with chewable vitamin C tablets she bought with her limited income. These treats delighted the children (and were approved by their parents too), and they flocked to see her when she came in the door. It was during these weekly touch point times that she and the kids got to know and love each other. She was wise, though, and knew it would take more than vitamins to build a deep relationship with her little friends.
Myrtle realized something important. The kids could be of genuine help to her; and she, in turn, could provide for them. Her crippled hands felt much better when she kept them moving, so she told the children they could really help her with her pain if they let her crochet a blanket for each of them. She promised to make them one if they would bring her yarn, and they really got into this—what fun to pick out yarn in their favorite colors! She made sure to bring the developing projects to church for their preview, holding their interest and excitement.
She set a goal to make every child in the congregation a handmade blanket, and she always had a baby blanket ready for every newborn. It became an honor to own Myrtle Sullivan’s handiworks, and her colorful creations were seen everywhere at church—little ones wrapped up in or sitting on them, matching ones for dolls and stuffed animals, superhero capes, lap throws and shawls.
Her labors of love surrounded us! In the end, many had two or even three; and I know of kids now grown who, to this day, cherish their blankets.
Building blankets and bridges
The congregation began to appreciate how her impact reached far beyond blankets. This blind, hurting widow was slowly and deliberately stitching together not just blankets, but our entire church family, one loving thread at a time. Children learned to enjoy the company of their elders, bridging the “generation gap.” Other women noticed and began to actively search for ways to better serve others. Most important, we learned that a person of God, regardless of circumstance, can make meaningful differences in the lives of those around her.
Because of her pain and handicaps, Myrtle wasn’t able to be a “keeper of the home” in the traditional, physical sense. Her home wasn’t spotless, and she couldn’t see the cobwebs or dust. But she tended to our church home every week, infusing it with cheerfulness, love, kindness and service, demonstrating a beautiful submission to God and trust in Him despite her challenges.
Cherishing the memories
Myrtle died many years ago, but her memory lives on in her lingering hugs of love and well-worn blankets we can’t seem to part with. I still smile at chewable vitamin C tablets. I’m grateful to her for showing our children what it is to be cherished, for talking to them about a kind and loving God, and teaching them to serve others in return.
Dee Kilough sat with Myrtle on several occasions to learn how to crochet. It quickly became obvious she should forego making blankets and buy chewable vitamin Cs instead. …
See more blog posts by Dee Kilough:
