Arrival in Heaven

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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.                   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks put the circumstances of our lives, both good and bad into God’s hands and help us see them through His eyes. Last night our beloved daughter-in-law Melinda slipped from this world into the presence of Jesus. And while we are overwhelmed with grief and shock, these words are promises to which we cling. Melinda has finished her race. Her battle with cancer is finished. And while that pernicious disease claimed her physical life, it could not touch her soul. That remained fully and exclusively in the hands of Jesus with whom she now lives. Nancy and I didn’t know how to process the news that came in three words. “She is gone.” Yet as sadness rolls over my heart I sense the message echo back from Heaven, ” She has arrived!”

Hitting High Notes in Memory Care

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I will praise to the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Psalm 146:2 ESV

“Mine eyes have seen the glory of…” I am sure as you read that phrase, that you were not only able to fill in the rest of the words, but that the melody from the Battle Hymn of the Republic also stirred in your memory. The linking of memory and melody is nothing short of miraculous. I still remember a night from a few years ago when a non-verbal 102-year-old resident who had been wheeled into our church services for months, suddenly broke into song at Christmas as we began singing “Silent Night.” Something in those words awoke a memory in her, and she sang along for more than just the first few lines. Amazingly, this dear lady made it all the way through all three verses! You could try to explain her response in some sort of scientific terms, but the plain truth is that there was a mystery there which only God understood. While we have commandments which forbid us from doing some things and require us to do others, as believers, singing praises to God is usually spontaneous. From the beginning of creation, God gave us singing as a wonderful gift to help us express our love and worship to Him. Even with people whose cognitive abilities have been severely compromised, they still retain a sometime hidden capacity to sing,

So, while visiting, friends or family who are living in memory care, why not try bringing along music. Turn on the radio, play a music CD or use a song list from your device. But no matter the form you use, be sure to sing with them. Listening is to hymns or worship songs is soothing, but singing together is priceless. Remember today’s verse says that we can sing to God, not just when we are young and our voices are clear, but as long as we live, and if we have eternal life through Jesus Christ that is a long-long time indeed!

Remembering Jesus in Memory Care – He Touched Me

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Through the song, “He Touched Me,” Bill Gaither also touched a place in hearts all over the world. Since it was written in 1960, those words, “He touched me and made me whole,” have been translated into scores of languages, because no matter our culture, language, or race, we all share the longing to be touched. In his ministry on earth one of those moments is captured in the first chapter of Mark:

“And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, ‘If you will, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 
Mark 1:40-41 ESV

The leper, who could not legally come into contact with any other human being not only longed to be healed, but also needed the acceptance and assurance that the simple touch of Jesus gave him. In memory care facilities, where residents live in locked units, there is often no one who touches them who isn’t paid to do so. Days or even weeks may pass without a single friendly hug, kiss on the forehead, or even a handshake. When we visit people whose abilities to communicate are limited and who are often forgotten by family and friends, few things will communicate the love of Christ better than a simple touch. Just as He did for that leper, Jesus is willing to reach out and touch them. But today the hands of Jesus to give that healing touch belong to you and me.

Remembering Jesus in Memory Care – Part One

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And He took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them say, “This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 23:19 ESV

While we sing, she keeps her eyes closed, though a tiny bit of a smile forms on her lips. The lady to her right is soundly asleep, with her head slumped forward, but the man on her right sings softly along, “Jesus Loves Me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so…”

 About halfway through the dozen songs that we sing that day, in the memory care unit, she looks up and begins joining in. Then, after I close in prayer, she is delighted when I offer her my hand saying, “Good morning, Kate! God bless you! I’ll be back next week, Lord willing and….,” then I pause to let her fill in the words: Kate smiles and chimes in, “And the crick don’t rise!”

The greatest loss in memory care wards, is more than the memory of the residents. The deepest issue is that most of them are forgotten by everyone else. But Jesus remembers them, and He calls some of us to follow HIm into memory care ministry, I know there are difficult days, and times when it looks pointless. Maybe you might ask God if there isn’t some easier job that He could send you to do. What about the hungry children in Africa, the local crisis pregnancy center, or medical missions to South America? While each of those ministries matters to God, He has chosen to place you and I in a place where less volunteers go than to some of the poorest mission fields on earth. Jesus’ plan is for us to reach out in His name, and it all begins just as His ministry did when He called His disciples by name and today He asks us to remember the names of each person that He sends us to!