“Remember the LORD in a distant land, and think on Jerusalem.” (Jeremiah 51:50 NIV)
Daily Guideposts writer, Edward Grinnan tells the story of his mother’s debilitating Alzheimer’s. What caught my attention was that when his mother was moved to an assisted living facility, he said, she “led prayers on Friday morning. She had forgotten almost everything else, yet the prayers came to her lips as if she had freshly committed them to memory.”
Grinnan’s story reminded me of Granny Smith, a lady in our church when I was a novice minister. When I met her, Fannie Smith had already succumbed to dementia and was unable to function without constant supervision. Her mind was gone and she had to be restrained to the safety of her home.
Sister Fannie lived across the street from her church and when she saw the lights on at church, she demanded to be brought to worship. Her daughter told us how on one occasion Granny Smith saw the lights on but it was not a worship service, the janitor was cleaning. Yet, Granny Smith insisted church was going on and she wanted to come. When her daughter would not bring her, she climbed into the sink and tried to get out through the kitchen window, because she remembered God and wanted to go to his house.
When Granny Smith was at worship services, she seemed to be as sane as anyone there. She would stand and lift her hands in praise and worship. She would give testimonies that were as lucid as anyone else’s. And most times her testimonies were so powerful the Holy Spirit would descend upon the congregation in powerful and invigorating ways.
In the “distant land” of incapacity, Granny Smith still remembered the Lord and thought of his house.
Dear Father, thank you for your grace and mercy. Grant that we may always remember you and your house. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be courageous today remembering the Lord’s work in your life,