Being a caregiver to Gene stressed me.
Dementia crowded out reality in Gene’s mind, and it seemed he had lost the ability to reason and make the right decisions. When things didn’t go as he believed they should, he lost his temper and exploded verbally at me, saying I was eviler than the alcoholic stepfather who beat him when he was a child.
As I sat alone waiting for an appointment with my doctor, I watched a gray-haired mother pushing a wheelchair with her middle-aged son in it. She headed to the receptionist’s desk to make an appointment. The son’s hands flailed in the air. Guttural sounds poured from his mouth. He depended upon his mother. But the mother had a glowing smile that seemed to reflect inner peace. Her smile never wavered.
I thought about the work of caring for Gene who was incontinent, walked unsteadily with a walker, and took his frustration with life out on me—yet I felt the older mother’s burden was far worse than mine.
As I watched the mother, I felt the urge to tell her how her smile of grace blessed me. But I remained in my seat. Soon, the mother and son left the building. My good intentions accomplished nothing because I didn’t follow through on them.
Perhaps we’ve all been guilty of doing as I did. We may feel God’s Holy Spirit whispering to us to speak a kind word, visit a shut-in, offer a ride to church, or do some other act of kindness, but we fail to carry through.
Be willing to obey those nudges the Lord gives you and to follow through on the kindnesses He bids you do. Don’t be guilty of losing the blessing you may be to others.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
Norma C. Mezoe strives to be a Barnabas in her writing and in her living. Norma has been a published writer for thirty years and has written for magazines, devotionals, and S.S. literature. She is active in her small church as clerk, teacher, and bulletin maker. Norma may be contacted at normacm@tds.net.