 |
| My beautiful grandma now dancing with Jesus |
At the end of 2007 I found myself in a place I never wanted to return to: working in a personal care home. I went from working with high school students in developing countries to working with a unit full of seniors. Really old ones! I was feeling quite sorry for myself. (I still have a few of those moments!) One day as I found myself lamenting, yes even complaining, to God over this 'horrible situation' I now found myself in, I reminded Him of James 1:27 - Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
I was all for looking after orphans and widows in the normal places where you would find orphans and widows. I know that one day I will find myself rescuing orphans. However, I failed to see the truth of the matter. In this season, God has entrusted me with forty of His precious widows right here in Canada. These are truly forgotten ones. Many of them have no family and are completely alone in the world. Many more have family who for one reason or another choose not to visit them. They cry out for the son or daughter who never comes.
What is my assignment? To place respect, honour and dignity upon each and every one them. To advocate on their behalf when they have no voice. To protect them from harm. To hold their hands when they are afraid or lonely. To laugh with them. To cry with them. To make sure they are not alone when life on earth comes to an end. To give them what may be their one last chance to know Jesus. In the everyday reality of it all, it's often frustrating and seemingly thankless. Dementia steals their personality and sometimes you have to look really hard to see the person that used to be. Pain - physical or emotional - can make them lash out and all of a sudden they are labelled as 'difficult'. Some days I feel like nothing more than a medicine dispenser. Most of my day is filled with the mundane - pills, pills and more pills, pureed food, spills on the floor, the same questions over and over again and the never-ending pile of paperwork.
In this season may I never take my God-assignment lightly. May I bestow dignity and honour on those society has hidden away and forgotten about. May I look beyond the mundane to see that which is sacred.
I was all for looking after orphans and widows in the normal places where you would find orphans and widows. I know that one day I will find myself rescuing orphans. However, I failed to see the truth of the matter. In this season, God has entrusted me with forty of His precious widows right here in Canada. These are truly forgotten ones. Many of them have no family and are completely alone in the world. Many more have family who for one reason or another choose not to visit them. They cry out for the son or daughter who never comes.
What is my assignment? To place respect, honour and dignity upon each and every one them. To advocate on their behalf when they have no voice. To protect them from harm. To hold their hands when they are afraid or lonely. To laugh with them. To cry with them. To make sure they are not alone when life on earth comes to an end. To give them what may be their one last chance to know Jesus. In the everyday reality of it all, it's often frustrating and seemingly thankless. Dementia steals their personality and sometimes you have to look really hard to see the person that used to be. Pain - physical or emotional - can make them lash out and all of a sudden they are labelled as 'difficult'. Some days I feel like nothing more than a medicine dispenser. Most of my day is filled with the mundane - pills, pills and more pills, pureed food, spills on the floor, the same questions over and over again and the never-ending pile of paperwork.
In this season may I never take my God-assignment lightly. May I bestow dignity and honour on those society has hidden away and forgotten about. May I look beyond the mundane to see that which is sacred.
No comments:
Post a Comment