Series: Call Me
Zechariah 2:5 ESV
Psalm 23:1-3 MSG
Psalm 23:4 MSG
Sometimes God reminds me how very blessed I am.
I am currently caregiver for my 96 year old mother.
She doesn’t use a walker.
She still cooks when I give her the ingredients and remind her how she made the dish in the past.
She cleans when I remind her what tools she needs.
She dresses herself.
And occasionally she even rides to the grocery store with me.
Even though she’s always been surrounded by a host of friends, she is now fine sitting in her chair.
We live in a Senior facility and I think it’s hard for her that she’s the oldest person here (by ten years).
The women in my family have all lived into their mid nineties and beyond.
Sometimes she gets really sad that all of her good friends are gone.
She buried two good husbands.
She has been diagnosed with dementia. She can still make great decisions but she needs to be reminded what she decided.
Knowing how important it is for our brain I regularly remind her how blessed she is. God has been very good to her.
The only serious illness she had in her life was when she had scarlet fever when she was 12 years old. She remembers her dad nailing up a sign on their door that said something like:
When she told me the story in the past she said she was really really miserable. She remembered the house being boarded up.
Growing up I don’t remember her ever being sick. She worked in the kitchen or in her sewing room from morning to night and she seldom sat down. I’ve always called her “the energizer bunny” because she always kept on going.
God protected her when she had scarlet fever and every day since.
Zechariah 2:5 tells us, “And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
God has protected her and continues to protect her.
That does not mean she has not seen hard times.
She buried her dad, her mom, her brother, and her sister. She buried her brother-in-law and his wife.
She buried her first husband when she was 59 years old. He had cancer and it spread quickly. He was diagnosed in late summer and he was gone by early November.
She said she would not remarry but her second husband pursued her relentlessly. They were married for twelve years when he passed.
She has buried all of her high school friends (who were lifelong companions).
She buried her three closest friends she had all her adult life.
She asks regularly why she’s still here.
Of course I do not know the answer to that, but I remind her that God has and will continue to protect her. God surrounds her and breathes life in her every day.
I remind her about Psalm 23:1-3,
“God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing.You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from.True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.”
We also talk about God’s timing and plan for our lives and our passing.
Psalm 23:4 tells us, “Even when the way goes through Death Valley,I’m not afraid when you walk at my side.Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure.”
When the time is right for her, God will come. Jesus will walk with her. She will not be alone.
Until then, she is surrounded by a ring of fire.
Spiritual Practice: Ring of Fire
Ask God to protect you and yours.
In God, Deborah
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