Sweet Moments

Proverbs 17:22 (ESV)

A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Nursing homes and memory care centers can be very sad places, but often there are sweet or funny moments that capture my attention while I am visiting my husband. Since Mike has been there over a year now, there have been several sweet moments, tense moments, funny moments, and sad or disturbing moments. I don’t know how the staff does it day in and day out. It is definitely a special calling and they need lots of patience plus our prayers.

One morning when I arrived, Mike was sitting at a round table with about 4 others. He was looking at a magazine, one lady was coloring and then there was another lady and a gentleman just sitting and occasionally chatting with each other. This is a memory care center so all of the residents have some type of memory issue. If you haven’t had the opportunity to be around someone with a memory issue, quite often they say exactly what they are thinking with no filters or embarrassment. 

The woman who was coloring was quite serious and focused on her picture. I told her she was doing a good job. She stopped, picked up her coloring sheet, examined it closely and declared that it was “VERY good!” Her statement made me laugh and I told her she was right, it was VERY good.

While the above scenario was playing out, the other two continued to chat in short bursts. Both are kindly and from time to time the woman would reach over and pat the man on the leg. Morning snack arrived and it was so sweet how they helped each other open the package and the joy on their faces as they shared their cereal bars with each other.

One woman always tells me how sweet my husband is and goes on and on about how he will do anything for her. I’ve never seen my husband interact with anyone, other than sit beside them, but she’s so joyful when she says it that I love to hear it. 

My all-time favorite interaction was with a woman who was riffling through Mike's clothes in his wardrobe. I asked what she was doing and she said she was getting the women's clothes. I told her I had just organized them and that they were all my husband's clothes. She pulled out one of his OSU t-shirts and said "See?!" About that time a staff member came in, asked what she was doing, and told her they had staff to do that. Her response was priceless "I thought I was staff!"

I've danced in the hallway and sung songs in the Gazebo with some residents, patted hands, given hugs, and gone along with whatever disjointed conversation someone wants to have with me. It not only brings a smile to their face, but to mine also.

Although there is much sadness around me when I visit my husband, I try to focus on the positives and look for the sweet moments and joy that can be found. If my husband smiles during my visit, I count it all joy. If he can talk with me instead of just repeat the same thing over and over, I give thanks to God.

No matter our situation, there is always joy to be found. When we look for and focus on joy, our burden is lighter and there is peace in our hearts.

Tip: A joyful heart is good medicine for us, those we love, and those we encounter!

Showers of Blessing

Ezekiel 34:26

And I will make them and the places

all around my hill a blessing

and I will send down the showers in their season;

they shall be showers of blessing. 

I started writing this post 3 rains ago, but today is a rainy day so a good day to send it out. The day I took these photos, was a couple of months back when we were receiving regular rains and everything was growing beautifully and staying green.

The last couple of months have seen precious little rain; therefore the rain today is a welcome release. It has been so hot, humid, dry and dusty that everything was turning brown and shriveled. The skies are grey and the showers are falling to the delight of all the remaining flowers, vegetables, fruits, grass, pumpkins, and farm crops. 

Personally, I like rainy days. I even pray for rainy days. It means a reprieve from working in the heat. It gives me a chance to catch up on indoor chores and desk work or to bake a treat or read a book.  I even enjoy taking a short walk if it isn't a downpour. It’s been so hot and dusty that the cool air and moisture are a relief to my senses. Another benefit is I received a free car wash, plus now the dust won’t swirl so much when driving in and out of the lane so it might stay a bit cleaner. 

Rain. Yes, it darkens the sky, but it replenishes the ground water giving us plenty of water to drink and use for other purposes. Rain is a gift, a bright spot.

I realize not everyone feels this way, but since I grew up on a farm, it was usually viewed that way by us. It was a necessity to our way of life. If all days were sunny, we’d all be in serious trouble. All living things must have water to survive. My husband didn't care for rainy days. Of course he knew we needed them, but they were like a trial to him. Rain was something to be endured, but it kept him from being outside as much as he'd prefer. I've known others who become depressed on rainy days or who speak of rain as a negative thing.

Back in the 1800's Daniel Whittle wrote the hymn There Shall Be Showers of Blessing. I find it very interesting to read the stories behind hymns or the authors who wrote them. When Whittle went off to war his devout Christian mother tucked a New Testament into his haversack and sent him off with many a prayer. He saw horrendous things and during one battle was knocked out. When he awoke, one arm had been amputated above the elbow. As he recovered, he had a desire to read and reaching into his pack pulled out the New Testament and proceeded to read it from cover to cover twice.

He still had no thought of becoming a Christian, although he now knew the way to salvation. Late one night a nurse woke him and asked him to pray for a soldier that was dying and begging for prayer. The nurse had seen him reading his Bible and believed he could help the young soldier. At first Whittle refused saying he'd never prayed in his life and was just as wicked as the nurse. The nurse persisted; however, until Whittle relented and went to the dying man.

The dying man asked Whittle to pray for him, to ask God to forgive him and Christ to save him. Daniel Whittle felt God speaking to him telling him he knew the way and to get on his knees, confess his own sin, and to pray for this dying soldier. Daniel did just that and believed that he had become Christ's child right then. When he got up from his knees the soldier had died with a peaceful look on his face. 

After the war he moved to Chicago and became acquainted with D.L. Moody. He became an evangelist and hymn writer. Showers of Blessing was inspired from the passage in Ezekiel. Through the trial or rainy season in his life when he couldn't be out and active as he probably wanted to, he found salvation through the reading of the Bible, plus brought salvation to another. Just as rain refreshes and replenishes the earth and has a purpose, so rainy seasons in our lives have a purpose and can cause much growth and harvest if we will yield to the Father. 



(Whittle story - http://digging-history.com/2014/04/06/hymnspiration-there-shall-be-showers-of-blessing/)