Nursing Home Ministry

Jesus Remembers

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.
Matthew 10:29 NIV

Every Thursday, I get to sing with my friends in a memory care facility. It is such a blessing seeing them light up as they hear the familiar hymns and many of them sing along. But as I greet them, some cannot remember my name, or in a few cases, even their own! Visitors rarely come. Perhaps most people think that since their loved one doesn’t even remember them any longer, that there is no purpose in coming. But the good news is that even when everyone else forgets, Jesus remembers! Jesus also weeps. Just as when Jesus came to visit the sisters of Lazarus, while he lay in the grave, Jesus wept with them before He did any miracles. Sometimes people don’t need explanations, they need our tears, our listening ears and our presence. Yes, Jesus weeps with them, but then Jesus does something more: He prays.

But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:32 NIV

Jesus is not retired, waiting up in Heaven for you and I to get things right. No! Jesus remembers us, Jesus weeps with us and Jesus prays for us. Jesus also prays for every one who sits in memory care. Jesus also calls you and I to remember, to weep and to pray. Will you take time this week to remember someone who has been forgotten by most? A few minutes, a prayer, a kiss, or an arm around their shoulders, may not seem like much, but it is everything to them. Have a blessed day everyone and remember to pray for those in memory care and put some feet to those prayers this week.

Taking Care of Mom

/ pastorpete51 / 10 Comments 
When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” and from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:26-27 ESV

When we read the stories of Jesus calling His disciples, it becomes clear early on that He had a special job for three of them: Peter, James, and John. Though Peter’s brother Andrew followed Jesus first and was the one who told Peter about Him, it was Peter who was called to be the leader, and despite denying Christ at His trial, Peter was the same boldly preached to thousands on Pentecost. At first, thousands became Christians, but then a few months later, the second in that inner circle, James was put to death for his faith. But what about John? If Peter were to lead, and James to be martyred, what did Jesus ask John to do? Jesus called Him take care of His mother.

While Peter was out preaching, and later on Paul became the greatest evangelist of all time, John stayed home, and there accomplished two things: He wrote about Jesus and He took care of Mary. Maybe there were days when John wondered why he couldn’t have a more exciting ministry. Why couldn’t he go on a mission trip, schedule a speaking tour, or organize the growing church? In fact, after the first few chapters of the book of Acts, John disappears from our view entirely. It wasn’t that he wasn’t as smart, couldn’t speak well or know how to lead. The central issue of John’s life was that He was asked by Jesus to take care of someone most precious to Jesus: His mom!

In memory-care ministry, we are not asked to speak to large crowds, to oversee the construction of a new church or to travel overseas. Instead, Jesus calls us to enter a world that others hope to avoid, and many would like to forget. So, on days when you wonder if you are making any difference, you feel exhausted, or confused, just remember John. When we read through the New Testament, we don’t find a single word that John said, and yet he was called the disciple whom Jesus loved. You are likewise loved by Jesus, and He will fill you with His love for others as you continue to trust Him and just take care of mom!

Finding Grace

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Going to visit people living in memory-care can be strange, uncomfortable, and even difficult, but it is rarely boring. It seems that every day, someone has a problem. No two days, no two people and no two problems are the alike. Just when things seem to be going smoothly, new challenges unexpectedly appear: The memory care wing is on lockdown, a person we counted on to help with the service is out sick or a resident we have grown to love has passed away. How does God expect us to cope with all of this? I believe that the answer is: He doesn’t! Now, I have experienced a lot of problems over the years at nursing homes and in my personal life, but none of them can compare with the kinds of issues that the Apostle Paul experienced. Shipwreck, beatings, prison and death threats were regularly on his itinerary. As Paul faced all of these bravely, we find him singing in prison with Silas, returning to the town where he was stoned and left for dead and even writing a letter to encourage Timothy while he himself faced the death sentence. But of all these problems, the one Paul faced when he wrote a letter to the Corinthian church was different. This time Paul when pleaded with God to take a problem away from him, God spoke to him about grace:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

This time God didn’t send an earthquake to change Paul’s situation, give him some new strategy to escape, or promise that things would get better. Instead, God promised Paul what He promises you and me: “My grace is sufficient for you…” God won’t give us the ability to follow Him without grace. He has designed us, not with an inner ability to succeed at anything we hope to do, but with a weakness that will drive us to depend on Him. There in our desperate moment, God comes, restores our hope, and pours His strength into our weakness. So, pray, pray, pray. Pray for God’s grace and then buckle your seat belts. You just may be amazed at what God can do!