One of the many wonderful attributes God placed in His human creation is the ability to remember. Can you imagine how horrible it would be if we did not have this remarkable God-given trait? It’s really impossible to even begin to understand the gravity of not being able to remember.

There have been movies that have tried to depict how tragic this would be. Just think how it would be to awaken every morning with no recollection of who you are, of the names of loved ones, of where you are, of what you do. It would be tragic, to say the least.

Sadly, there are multitudes who experience just such a reality. We all probably know of someone, or have heard of someone, who is struggling with Alzheimer’s or dementia. In serving as pastor for over forty years, I have known several, all of whom have left an indelible impression on me. It is with the utmost of compassion and love that I share some of their stories.

The first was a long-time follower of Jesus Christ. She, by the testimony of her life as well as her voice, was a vibrant witness for the Lord she loved so dearly. As she began to show signs of the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, it was obvious that she was rapidly moving into that state of mental loss. At first she began to forget things. She couldn’t remember recipes of dishes she had prepared probably hundreds of times. Then, she began to forget names. At first it was just the names of acquaintances, but soon it included the names of close family members. She soon forgot the names of all her children.

Strangely enough, she never forgot the words to the hymns she had loved and sang for many years. A cassette player was kept by her bedside that played those old hymns constantly -all day and all night. She sang along with every one, usually with a huge smile on her face. The strangest thing to me was that, even though she could not remember who her children were, she never forgot me. Every time I would go visit, as soon as I walked in the door, she would have the biggest smile, and immediately say, “Preacher!” Why? I have no clue. I, for some unknown reason, was a memory lodged deeply in the recesses of her mind. Her family stood by her side faithfully, caring for her, tending to her every need, until the day the Lord called her home to be with Him – the One she had long awaited.

Another example was a couple in a church I served as pastor in Texas. Soon after I began my tenure there, one of the members asked me if I would like to meet his wife. I had noticed that he came to church alone, and wondered if he were married, and if so why his wife did not attend with him. I told him that I would be honored to meet her, so he made arrangements to pick me up one day the following week.

He had not told me anything about his wife, until I got into his truck and headed down the road. He then shared with me that she was in a nursing facility, where she had been for several years. He began to relate to me, with tears flowing down his cheeks, about seeing the first signs of what he came to realize was the onset of Alzheimer’s. It was small things at first, things that were easily dismissed as simple forgetfulness. But it soon became obvious that something much more serious was happening.

He cared for her in the home until it became painfully obvious that her needs were much more than he could handle. Reluctantly, he came to the conclusion that in order for her to be cared for in the most loving way, he would have to find a facility in which she could get the professional help necessary.

This couple was the greatest example of marital love I have ever seen. Three times every day he would go to the nursing facility – eight o’clock every morning, at noon, and again at five o’clock every evening. He would take her by the hand, walk her through the hallways, feed her each meal, all the while reassuring her of his deep and abiding love for her. She never responded, not even the slightest nod of the head or a squeeze of the hand. But relentlessly, come what may, he was there, telling her how beautiful she was and how much she was loved.

I wonder sometimes why God chooses to leave someone here, in this life, when it appears to us that they would be far better if He would call them to be with Him. And, the fact of the matter is, we usually don’t know. But we do know that God has His reasons, and that His ways are always right.

I think oftentimes about my own mother. She was showing the early signs of Alzheimer’s, and I knew that the day would come that I would walk into her room, and she would not know me. I prayed that day would never come, but it did. And as much effort as I had put into trying to prepare myself for that day, I was still so very ill-prepared. As I walked into her room and saw her sitting on the edge of her bed, I looked into her eyes and knew – I knew. It was a blank stare looking back at me. Her eyes were pools of darkness. She looked, she stared, and I knew in my mind that she was trying so very hard to remember.

I walked over and sat in a chair directly in front of her. I simply said, “Do you remember me?” “No. I don’t think so,” was the earth-shattering answer. I sat in stunned silence for a few seconds – an eternity. I tried to jog her memory by asking simple questions about family. “Have you ever been married.” “Do you have any children?” “Do you know where you are?” “No.” “No.” “No.” was her response to each.

It was one of the worst days of my life. Thankfully she did not stay in that mental state, but would have days of mental clarity which we all cherished. But we knew that her mind would never be like it had been. From that day until the day of her death, I cherished the moments I had with her so much more, putting forth every effort to help her maintain her dignity of life, but also to just let her be her, and take in every moment.

Life – a precious gift from God. Life- a brief span of time we spend on earth. Life – to be cherished and enjoyed. Life – deserving of the dignity God intended, because every life is a person created in His image.

Death – the inevitable path we all must follow. Death – the passage from this physical life into eternal life. Death – for the believer, the ultimate realization of the very presence of God. Death – not to be feared, because it has been swallowed up in victory.

“O death, where is your sting? O hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” First Corinthians 15:55-58

Let’s treat every person we meet with the dignity they deserve. Let’s never allow strength or weakness, health or sickness, wealth or poverty, or any other man-made distinction to cause us to think more of one and less of another. Let’s love, and love, and love, and keep on loving. One day, if we live long enough, we will outlive many that we love. Let’s let our love for them be as Jesus’ love for His disciples:

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” John 13:1