Caregiving

“I will still be the same when you are old and gray, and I will take care of you. I created you. I will carry you and always keep you safe.” Isaiah 46:4 CEV

My mother started having memory problems when she was in her early 60s. It wasn’t until she was about 66 years old that she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, a dreaded disease that slowly stole her memories and her health. Yet as I watched her decline physically and mentally over the next 10 years, I was amazed at God’s loving care for her.

We lived about 200 miles away and I worked full time, which prevented me from being there very often to help care for her. So when my father developed some difficulties that required hospitalization, I had the emotionally difficult job of placing her in a personal care home. God was there, in the process, watching over Mom. He gave us wisdom to place her in a newly built, affordable facility that was just a half block from their home of 50 years. In the home, she quickly won the hearts of the staff with her gentle nature and she received wonderful care.

When she became so ill she needed full time nursing care, I prayed, about where to move her. Once again God gave wisdom and we moved her to a skilled nursing facility where she and my dad had volunteered for years – singing, cheering and helping with the patients. Some of her nurses even remembered her and took exceptional care of her for the week she was there until she died. God was with her carrying her, even through her last days by bringing people who remembered her ministry and cared about her.

This fall, she will be gone for 5 years, but the lessons I learned about God’s loving care from watching her suffering remain fresh in my mind.

Thank you Lord, that we never grow so old, feeble or helpless that you toss us away. I can trust you to care for me and always keep me safe in your loving arms. Amen.