Soon after I moved down to Georgia to work for Adventures In Missions, I also took on a part-time job with HomeInstead Senior Care. It’s been a new experience for me and I’ve seen quite a bit in just a couple months. I’m not exactly professionally trained in caring for the elderly, but I’m learning as I go…
One particular individual I’ve been caring for is Joe. He is currently living at a specialized nursing home facility for folks with Alzheimer’s disease. His conditions seem to worsen every month and he is able to do nearly nothing for himself. Except for occasionally being able to lift a glass to his mouth, he is completely dependent on the care of others. Bathing, diapers, eating, transportation – for all of these things he humbly relies on myself and other.
Even more humbling, he can barely hold a simple conversation and his memory is nearly lost. His sentences are incoherent and he often repeats himself. This means that figuring out what he needs and what he wants can be extremely frustrating at times.
One interesting fact I just recently learned is that Joe was at one time a well-respected mayor of Gainesville, GA. That’s right. The guy who I help get into his pajamas at night used to run the city I currently live in. And I thought my seasons of life have had quite a variety thus far. Yet finding this out has certainly put things into perspective.
This has certainly been a great lesson in humility for me. I know I often go about my day feeling invincible. I’ve built up a little too much pride in who I am and I take way too much credit for my accomplishments. I often quickly forget that all I have is a gracious gift from God, and it can vanish at any second. What I am and what I’m doing can end “in the twinkling of an eye.”
So whether you’re a grocery store clerk or the president of the United States, you are not immune to the seasons of life. No matter how intelligent, how wealthy, how revered, how healthy, or how strong we are now, any one of us can find ourselves bound to a wheel chair and completely dependent on the help of others. And I don’t say this to be a pessimist or make you feel depressed. I say this as a caution against the pride of life.
Any blessing and opportunity in this life should be credited entirely to the Lord. And we have to remember that we each have an expiration date. None of us are invincible, self-made men and women. What we have now is a gift from God – so thank Him!
