Through A Glass Darkly

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
I Corinthians 13:12

My wife and I have just returned from a trip to Florida. It was not a vacation, but was more like a short-term mission trip. Our mission was to care for her 91-year-old father, who is in the final stages of Alzheimer's. We endured a week of tiring 14-hour days, but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

Her mother (who has congestive heart failure) and her sister --- along with others --- are attempting to care for him in the home as long as they can. It is a daunting task because he is still ambulatory, and you never know what he's going to get into. My wife accurately described him as having the characteristics of a toddler, with one exception: a real toddler can be trained.

It was truly a moving experience to see someone who was for many years a self-made man, fastidiously pious and full of pride, now reduced to a disobedient child in Depends.

This condition is far worse than standard dementia because it goes well beyond forgetting who someone is, or remembering a particular date, to the state of adversely affecting the motor skills and rote daily activity. He could perfectly tie his shoes one minute, then take a bite off of a bar of soap and eat it in the next.

I believe that God uses this condition, along with others, to bring us through this journey of life. As to why certain people have to go into this tunnel, I don't have a clue. I did observe, however, that the old characteristics of this man went into the darkness with him. Wanting to do things himself. Ready to fight you. Singing his praises of his accomplishments. These are the things that he must wrestle over with his heavenly Father even before he proceeds through the door of death.

It is surely a wake-up call to those of us who are still in our right minds. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the time to be obedient in the love for others that God intended for us. This disease not only has a profound impact on the patient, but on the caregivers as well. We are here for each other. Jesus said, "Whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done for me."

We left her parents' house feeling a bit helpless --- realizing that we had represented but a small drop in a very large pond. We felt empathy for those whom we had left behind to care for this man.

I must also share the experience we had in meeting a real angel. His name is Frank. He is Puerto Rican. He lives across the street from my father-in-law. A while back he offered his services because he saw the signs. Frank is experienced in working with Alzheimers patients. He's sixty-five. Every morning he comes over and cares for Louis. He shaves and bathes him meticulously. And he has a sweet spirit. He genuinely loves all of the patients he cares for, no matter how they behave to him. He arrives and leaves with a beautiful smile on his face. And this for a man who, in his right mind, wouldn't normally have given Frank the time of day.

In the New Testament James tells us that true religion is caring for widows and orphans. This disease has already made a widow of sorts of my mother-in-law. And Louis is surely feeling alone in the darkness of his own personal hell. God is truly at work in his children.
STEVE