[blindchristian] Faithfullness to the Older Saints in Our Lives, March 28, 2015

From: "Victoria" <gilkerson2730@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blindchristian@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2015 20:43:16 -0500
 

 

Faithfulness to the Older Saints in Our Lives

By Janice P. Moser

 

Pastor Geoff's Ten Commandment Series, which will continue on Monday, has
brought to my mind a myriad of ways that people faithfully honor mothers and
fathers and other older folks, in their later stages of life.

 

A friend of mine was devoted to her mother, who passed away after many years
of continuing decline, due to Alzheimer's. I, too, went to visit her mother
frequently; ever since my first visit to a nursing home while in my teens, I
have always considered the visitation of our saints there, to be a privilege
and honor. To demonstrate some of the various means that God provides for
our ministry to them, I will illustrate by describing the stages of decline
of this brilliant scientific mind.

 

When I first would visit her in the early stages, she was in her own home,
and she would proudly share from her garden. So her daughter and I would
allow HER to minister to US by handing us roses or a drink in the kitchen,
just appreciatively accepting whatever she would do for us in love. We are
all used to the saying, "it is better to give than to receive," but the
reverse is true, as well, for it is also VERY important to let others give
to us. We must accept these gifts of love as they are given, from a generous
and thankful heart. When we well-meaningly say "that's not necessary" or for
any reason resfuse to accept it, we not only hurt the giver, but also
deprive them of THEIR own God-given ministry. 

 

As time and the disease came further upon my friend J, she would be unable
to tallk much, but she still enjoyed seeing a familiar face. So both her
daughter and I would simply respectively sit with her, and when she did say
something, I would "go with the flow" and let her guide the conversation,
wherever her mind took it.

 

My friend took care of her in J's own home, as long as humanly possible. But
she was wearing herself out, trying to be vigilant dudring the nightly
wandering etc. She knew that her mother would be broken-hearted if she let
her wreck her own health, so she did resesarch and found the BEST facility
in a large metro area, and had her mother cared for there, in a locked-down
but full-of-love Alzheimer's ward, that tried to balance the safety of the
patients, with engaging them in conversations of everyday events. In our
visits, we would participate in the games and conversations offered to the
patients, exercising the patients' God-given brain cells.

 

After my friend's mother was no longer responsive to that kind of
interaction, when we would visit, we would simply offer a ministry of
presence. We sometimes weren't sure that she was aware of our presence, or
knew whom we are - though several studies have shown that even when people
are unable to let us know they can hear and understand us, they actually
can. Sometimes the heart and mind are aware that their family and friends
are present, but they are no longer able to express that recognition. We
need to always assume they CAN hear us, and then we should depend on the
Holy Spirit to get the message through to their spirits. 

 

Regardless of whether the person knows us at that stage, GOD does know and
wants us to honor them - and so we continue to do so. One time, God put a
song in my mind, and I remembered that many studies have shown that even
when a brain doesn't recognize people any more, familiar music is still
there. So I would sing to her. In addition, our faithful visits provide a
witness to the value of their lives. And we needed to continue, for those
moments when she was even slightly aware that a loving face was there, and
also because we needed to do it, in order to to honor God. My friend J lived
a faithful life, and while we had her here on Earth, we were honored to be
able to demonstrate the countless adaptable forms of ministry that God
provides us, when we are visiting our family and friends in their later
stages of life.

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Posted by: CF <cfdevcfpray@xxxxxxxxx> 

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Victoria E Gilkerson
[blindchristian] Faithfullness to the Older Saints in Our Lives, March 28, 2015

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