It stung to realize that the job was over. Although I had only been at it for six weeks I thought there was substantially more good than bad. As a companion for an elderly woman with Alzheimer's I had driven her to appointments, done laundry and dishes, and spent time with her. But she was done with me, and let me know. 

Granted I did burn the bacon, and the coffee was too cold. Or hot. I helped too much when she was putting on her coat. Or too little. So that brief chapter of immersion in the world of the elderly is ended. 

I held it as a spiritual challenge, to have compassion for her, to practice patience, to not take things personally. And for that I am grateful. Sometimes we laughed together, and marveled at the animals in Planet Earth movies. We held hands for the blessing, though one time she scolded me for praying too quietly. One time we were driving as we often did, and I fell into roads that are familiar. Then she spoke. 

"I wonder what is down that other road. "

"I don't know either. I have never been there."

"Let's find out!" she was actually excited. It was nothing more remarkable than more houses and parked cars, but it was different. A little. A brief reprieve from the monotony that was her world. 

I have been thinking about friends who were told to go away. Husbands who no longer wanted them. Adult children who were too busy to talk. Employers who downsized them out of a job. 

No one is exempt from the smart of rejection. 

But then again, neither is God.