I haven’t seen much of my wife these past few days. She only slips in once every other day or so, and she always looks so harried. Then after only a few minutes, she gives me a kiss and tells me she has to go. What is she so uptight about?

She was saying something strange the other day: That I was “graduating” from the place where I am living, and I’m “moving” to another place… Then she said something about me getting to see my youngest son on his birthday, which is coming up next week… Since he lives in Western Canada, I’m not sure how all of that is going to come about!

The staff where I live are acting strange as well. They says things like, “We’ll miss you when you leave” or “Only a few more days and then your big trip!”

What big trip? Has my wife planned a winter getaway? Is she going to take me somewhere warm? If so, why is she so uptight all the time? A trip somewhere warm sounds fun to me! Hey! Maybe our youngest son will be joining us where it’s warm! Maybe that’s what it all means!

In all, I guess I won’t really know until next Wednesday, when it all apparently comes to a head. In the meantime, I will stay in my ignorant bliss, knowing that whatever is going to happen, God is in charge, and it will all end up very nice.

It is true that my bliss is absolutely fed by my ignorance. I don’t understand what it means to be discharged from the behavioral program I’ve been in since August and transferred to a different nursing home. I don’t have any concept of the fact that my wife is busy packing up for a move to Western Canada to live near our younger son. I am completely clueless that this upcoming Wednesday she will put me on an airplane and fly me out to a new nursing home where my son lives. Would I feel differently if I could understand all of that? Maybe… But if I think about it, I really shouldn’t feel different. I mean, no one knows how everything will all turn out, and besides, God is STILL in charge! Everything WILL be beautiful in the end! Doesn’t the Word of God promise that “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Eccl. 3:11 NIV)?

Back before I had all of this “blissful ignorance”, before my cognition began to slip, I used to worry a lot, and I used to scurry around just like my wife is doing right now. But for what?

Oh, I had plenty of “good” reasons to worry. After all, “this” or “that” or “something else” could potentially happen, and that wouldn’t be good, right? Yet none of us actually knows if “this” or “that” or “something else” will actually happen or not!

The results of worry are as follows: If I worry about something that never happens, then I worried for nothing. But if I worry about something that actually does happen, then I worry twice! Once before it happens, and once while it is happening! Meanwhile, even if the bad thing I worried about does happen, God is still in charge, He will take care of us! And in the end, any worrying that we do will end up being nothing but a total waste of time!

Yes, dementia has given me one good gift: The gift of not worrying. For the first time in my life, I understand why the Bible admonishes us to NOT worry: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV). Yes, I am experiencing that peace of God, and it does guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus! I can only wonder why it took dementia to teach me this beautiful lesson…

That’s why I’m sharing this with you today. You don’t have to have dementia to experience this peace. All you need to do is pray to God in every situation, giving thanks for His goodness and His mercy, giving Him every part of the entire situation. Then, even without dementia, you, too, can experience that peace and how it guards your heart and mind!

I wonder what I can do to help my wife understand this important recipe for peace. Then maybe she would be able to visit me more often…

Inspired by Rob Chaffart
Founder, Answers2Prayer Ministries