I am creating a blog as a place for me to share thoughts and ideas with others. As most of you know I have recently moved my parents to Greenville to be closer to my brother and myself. In this move we have had to make the difficult decision to move my dad into a memory care unit in Greenville. Since this move the question I get asked the most is how are my parents? I will not speak for my mom because if I know her she will read this and will be able to tell others how she is without my help. I want to talk a little about my dad. He is adjusting well, and I think most of us are adjusting well also. It is difficult to see your father and realize just how advanced his Alzheimer's is when you see that he needs the care that he is receiving at the memory care facility.
As a pastor one thing that I am always thinking about is where is God in all of this. I have found God in many difference places with my dad. The other day I went to the memory care unit to visit dad and got there for the end of the Bible study. Let me say this first. This is in no way meant to be an attack or slam on the person leading the Bible study, but more some of my own reflections. At the end of the Bible study the leader went around the table and asked each of the people there if they believed in Jesus Christ? My assumption is that the leader was looking for assurance of their salvation. I am fairly certain right now my dad could not tell you what that means. I am fairly certain right now my dad could not carry on a conversation with you about God, Jesus, church, grace, salvation, or any other theological topic. By no means though does that mean that my dad's faith is any less than it has been.
I believe in a God that is more powerful than words. I believe in a God that is more powerful than a disease that takes away the ability for my dad to communicate what he believes. I believe that God is at work in my dad. I believe that God is at work in all of us. We are all a creation of God and we are all valued, we are all LOVED. My dad answered yes that he believes in Jesus Christ when asked. I am happy that he did, but his answer is not my focus. My focus is how God is still at work in my father and others who suffer from this disease. I am reminded that in Romans 8 we are told that nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even Alzheimer's taking away my dad's ability for "meaningful" verbal communication. My dad still knows what love is and he still knows he is loved. Bishop Kenneth Carder shared this video with us in class one day and I wanted to share it with yall. Let us remember that when we are talking about God we are talking about the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of all, who works in ways that we cannot begin to imagine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrZXz10FcVM
