Story: The Woman Who Did Not Know How to Receive Love

Once there was a woman named Charm Almy. She was a very neat lady. She could sing like nobody's business, had a great sense of humor, was a wonderful friend, and had absolutely no idea how to receive love.

One day Charm got sick. Actually, she had been sick for quite some time, and had been living in and out of nursing homes for a long time; she also lived in and out of my home for some time. Anyhow, when I say that she got sick, I mean that she got sicker than normal--so sick that she had to go to the emergency room, and ended up staying in the hospital for a long time.

While in the hospital, (Saint Mary's, to be precise), she called me up and asked me to bring her some of her pain medication that she had left at my house. I, after debating this course of action for some time, figured it would be wise to check with the Saint Mary's staff before doing this to avoid any medicinal conflicts or overdoses. After doing so, I became utterly convinced that bringing her more medicine than what she was already being administered would be very dangerous. So I told her no.

This brought on a barrage of insults, accusations, and anger. "You're not a true friend! A true friend wouldn't do that to a friend!" and "I wouldn't do that to someone that I called a friend!" And the like. "I know what's going on...those people at your house are stealing them!" And it went on and on. So much so that the entire relationship itself was called into question, because I would not bring her her pain pills.

I held out. I knew that it was the right thing to do, because I knew that if I brought her the pain pills, that she would take them over and above what pain medicine they were already administering to her right then and there. And, having already lost one person I loved to pain medication, I was not about to be a part of it happening again.

Well, she kept bugging me. Left nasty messages on my voice mail. So I went and talked to her. I told her why I was not doing it. It did not help. She did not understand, but insisted that I was not being a true friend. I finally informed her that if she was ever going to get her pain medicine, (which was rightfully hers), that she was going to have to get it herself, and that if she did, I would not stop her because yes, they did belong to her.

Well, long story short, she eventually made it out on a pass, and I brought her up to the house.(Maybe that was my first mistake).Then she asked for her pills. I broke down and gave them to her. I felt I couldn't say no at that point. Here she was at my house wanting what belonged to her. We then shopping, went to Burger King, and took her back to the hospital. We had a great time, and she thought I was the greatest. Then I went home.

The next day, I went on an overnighter with a friend. Camping and fishing at Boca... I love it. There we are, enjoying the crisp morning, scouting out the best fishing spot. The phone rings. "Hello?"
"Hello, is this Jesse?"
"Yes."
"This is nurse Smith from Saint Mary's critical care. We're calling about Charm Almy."
"Yes, what's going on?"
"We see that you are her primary contact number, so we need to let you know that Miss Almy went into a coma last night. We don't know why... she is in critical care."

So you can probably guess the rest. I rush to the hospital. There she is, unresponsive, barely holding on to life. I say a prayer. I talk to the nurses to gather all the info I can. Then I leave.

A week passes. I am at home on a Saturday morning. "Mr. Price?"
"Yes?"
"This is nurse Smith from Saint Mary's. We see that you are the primary contact for Miss Almy. We need to let you know that she passed away this morning."

And so it goes. Those who have no idea how to receive love, and those who are just learning to give it, and how they help each other along to destruction.

What is humanity's main challenge?? I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We have no idea how to receive love.