Some of my earliest memories as a child are of my Grandpa Nielsen. He had Alzheimer's disease. I remember when we would stay with my Grandma and Grandpa while my parents were out of town he would ask me about every 5 minutes what my name was and why I was staying with them. He would frequently get lost in the neighborhood when he went out for a walk. He had a hard time staying on task for any significant length of time.
Soon enough the time came for him to be taken to a nursing home. I remember that day. It was the first time I had ever seen my Grandma cry. She was a stoic child of the depression and emotions were easily concealed. Not on this night. This night she knew her partner of over 40 years was not going to be living with her anymore. In a way it was a sort of death. I saw her cry.
Alzheimer's is not a fun way to die. For my Grandpa it took about 15 years as he slowly lost his mind and ability to function. The memory is the first thing to go and a person with this disease goes downhill from there.
I think many of us suffer from a form of spiritual Alzheimer's disease. We fail to remember. Our memory is lost and we can die a slow spiritual death if we are not careful. In the coming days I'll flesh out what I mean by this. I think it will encourage you.
2 comments:
Zach,
Thanks for this post. I have a passion for working with people with Alzheimer's disease and I have been contemplating as of late the spiritual lives of people as they develop dementia.
Thinking about spiritual Alzheimer's is an interesting thought too.
It's too easy to forget the good things God does in your life. It slips away into a fog if you don't mark it in some way and then when another situation comes up like the first one, and you could be strengthened by remembering how God worked it all out the last time, you only come away with mist.
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