Many of us know what a scourge Alzheimer's disease is. While cancer in
its various forms seems to dominate the attention of our aging
congregation right now, we have also had our share of Alzheimer's and
dementia victims. The despair, heartache, and frustration these bring to
loved ones has to be experienced first-hand to be believed. I have read
many inspiring prayers for the loved ones of Alzheimer's victims, but
this one, written for our Drummond Hill Presbyterian Church congregation
in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, by our pastor, Rev. Wally Hong, is
especially poignant and says it all, in my opinion. Let it speak for
itself.
Dear God, my loved one remembers me less.
There,
sitting alone in a world so far away;
when our eyes meet, there
is no recognition - no hello.
The more I bring past joys to
awaken the life that could be,
the more emptiness I find in those
beautiful eyes.
My heart aches! My soul is full of anguish!
Where do I get strength and peace?
Be with me, O God! Give me
strength to remember
the love of yesterday
when our hearts
and souls danced together,
when we glimpsed eternity and laughed.
Give me the sight to see life that is from You,
filled with
possibilities of love
For I refuse to stop loving even in my
deepest sadness. Amen.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a "Love suffers long
and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not
puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not
provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in
the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love never fails." (NKJV)
One of our church
ladies died several years ago after a lengthy spell of Alzheimer's. At
her funeral, two of her long-suffering daughters stood beside her open
casket, beaming at me, and asserting, "Now she knows who she is again!"
That is the language of rejoicing and of love.
Prayer: Merciful
Father, we thank You that Jesus assumed our burdens and suffered for our
sins. But some are assuming the burdens and suffering of their loved
ones who are slowly slipping into the oblivion of Alzheimer's. Uphold
those who suffer, Father, both the afflicted and their loved ones;
enable them to endure. May those of us who are spared such agony of
spirit extend our love, sympathy, understanding, and active help to
those who undergo the experience. In Jesus' most precious name, we pray.
Amen.
Robert Norminton
Niagara
Falls, Ontario, Canada
Thanks to
PresbyCan Daily Devotional
