One of the best parts about living in the same place for a long time is getting to know your neighbors.
Although you won’t become close with all of them, there are usually at least one or two that you seem to get along with.
However, there are also those neighbors whom we never really get to know.
Whether it’s because our schedules just don’t line up or that we simply don’t make an effort, some neighbors go unmet for years.
For one pair of neighbors, they had no idea just how close they would become once their paths did finally meet.
Marleen Brooks came home to a letter in her mailbox one afternoon.
It was from one of her neighbors–a 90-year-old woman named Wanda.
The note read:
“Would you consider to become my friend? I’m 90 years old- live alone. All my friends have passed away. I’m so lonesome and scared. Please I pray for someone.”
Although Marleen had never met Wanda, she felt drawn to helping her out.
It turns out that Wanda lived just two houses down and across the street.
According to Marleen, Wanda’s house is so quiet that she was convinced that nobody lived there at all.
She decided to walk over to Wanda’s house the day after receiving the note.
Wanda seemed surprised to see Marleen when she answered the door, apparently not expecting that her call for help would be answered.
However, that first interaction was the beginning of a very strong friendship between the two women.
Wanda now lives in a nursing home and Marleen visits her multiple times every single week.
She’ll even bring her husband and kids along with her on these visits.
When Wanda was asked how these visits have impacted her life, she said, “Well, it helps.”
And according to Marleen, it helps her too.
Marleen explained that she often felt like she didn’t spend enough time with her own grandmother before she passed away.
Getting to spend time with Wanda feels like some bit of redemption for her.
The experience has had such an impact on Marleen, that she even started up her own group that helps to end the isolation that senior citizens can feel as they age.
The group is called Pen Pals For Seniors and it would have never been possible if Wanda hadn’t reached out to Marleen on that fateful day.
Marleen said this when asked how she felt about people feeling isolated and lonely:
“I mean, it could be any of us, and just, nobody should feel that way, ever.”
Wanda is lucky that she sent out that note to such a caring and selfless person.
However, if you ask Wanda, she doesn’t believe that it was luck at all.
She believes that, “Somebody sent her.” And when asked about who it was that sent her, Wanda says, “God sent her.”
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