The People You'll Meet in Heaven

If you were at our It’s a Miracle Dinner last year, you will recall our guest speaker, Mitch Albom.  You may also recall some of the stories from his bestselling books that were part of his remarks.  Stories about Morrie Schwartz, Pastor Henry Covington, and others.

He spoke about a book he published in 2003, The Five People You Meet in Heaven.  This book is not about the obvious people you hope to meet in heaven.  It is about the people who impacted your life and they didn’t even know it.

That storyline has always been important to me as I think about the people who have impacted my life (and maybe didn’t even know it).  It is particularly relevant in the work of Angels’ Place.  So many people.  So much impact.  It really is a miracle.

Our residents are certain to meet people like you in heaven when their time on earth ends.

Rebekah Harahan recently share a $500,000 gift with Angels’ Place.  Here is a little of the backstory to Rebekah announcement:

About a year ago, Blessed Assurance Inspections inspected of every home we own – and they did this at no cost to us.  

Though the Pine Center house has served us well for over twenty-five years, the inspector discovered multiple mechanical issues there.

Our old friend (rest his soul) Denny Flynn suggested that we talk to Bob Storen and his partner to help create an estimate of repairs.  They estimated $150,000.

But, Bob told us, you’ll invest that money and still have a house that cannot accommodate aging residents. The bathrooms would still not accommodate a walker or wheelchair and a caregiver; the hallways would still be too narrow, 

So we engaged architect Kevin Hart to create some preliminary architectural drawings to flesh-out the possibilities

The Angels’ Place board digested Kevin’s concepts and quickly resolved – let’s rebuild the house -- so it can effectively serve the residents far into the future.

The outstanding question was: how will we pay for this?

The very next day – as if by Providence – Rebekah had a scheduled visit to the office.  Unexpectedly, she told Barbara Urbiel and I that she wanted to memorialize her late husband Bell and his uncle Michael McManus at Angels’ Place in a significant way. 

She asked what might they do.

The previous day’s Board presentation on my desk.  We showed it to her and she immediately said “we can help accomplish that”.

We know the Pine Center ladies hope to meet their families in heaven.  And they hope to meet their caregivers in heaven.  Mitch Albom might say the Pine Center ladies will meet

• Rebekah and her family 
• the inspector from Blessed Assurance
• the Angels’ Place board and its founders
• Kevin Hart
• Denny Flynn
• Bob Storen
• and all the volunteers that fixed up their temporary home.

People who didn’t even know how significantly they impacted their lives

But the story doesn’t end there.

With Rebekah’s commitment, The McManus Foundation gave us more than money, she inspired us to imagine:

• What would it take to touch all ninety-three residents and their twenty-one Angels’ Place homes – so all residents can comfortably and safely age in place?
• Might this also enable us to serve more people without adding more houses?
• What would it take to reimagine our enrichment center -- to create a new hub of resident care and activities?
• What would it take to grow our endowment – so we can meet the increasing costs of serving the residents?

The answer is it will take $10 million.  And her gift gives us the confidence and momentum to commit to that path.

Is that confidence justified?  We believe it is.  

As of today, in addition to Rebecca’s gift, you have made gift commitments totaling over $5.5 million. Over half-way to our goal. 

This is something we need to do.  

To provide care for life.  

For our special people.

And the circle of the people we’ll meet in heaven continues to grow.