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they say he’s the only spouse who comes every day. every meal…
they keep telling him to take a break…
but he says the only time he is happy is when he is there with her.
there’s a dead look to her. a dead stare about her piercing blue eyes. those tiny oasis’s framed by white wrinkles.
they are fixed into space on points unseen. focusing hard, determined to grasp, to understand, to remember…
her skeletal frame sits uncomfortably in her wheelchair. she doesn’t move unless someone moves for her.
he brings each shaking spoonful to her mechanical lips with patience. watching the shell of the wife he once knew and loved and held dear and understood and could hear and could speak with, barely hang on to get through the meal.
he never complains. he never loses hope. he never gives up.
he loves her. more than humans are capable of. this is how i know that my grandad is filled with the Holy Spirit and that he is dependent on the Lord for his strength.
Jesus came to us in our need. when we couldn’t remember Him. when our minds were foggy, when our sight was fixed upon things that didn’t matter…that didn’t even exist…
and He loved us all the more.
grandad comes everyday, every meal.
the aids could do that. its their job, they do it for all the others staying there…
but he cares. and even though grandmom may have no idea that it is her hero husband afterall, jack who is taking care of her and providing for her and loving her unconditionally…he does it anyways because he loves her, still.
and every once in a while, the sweetest thing happens,
those deep blue swirling eyes come into focus. they are alive and vibrant and they lock contact with him. at that moment, the tense discomfort and strain that normally paints her face is alleviated. and a bright toothy smile lights up her countenance. sometimes there’s even a mumble and a chuckle to accompany.
In that beautiful moment, it clicks, just for a moment, she snaps back from her mindless reverie, from the cloudy consciousness she so often inhabits.
and there, in that moment, she understands.
its written all over her face.
She doesn’t need words to say what is written, she expresses it so beautifully and i think it says something like:
”I know you. I love you. Thank you.”
i hope that i would snap out of my earthly reverie.
i hope that i would express that to my Lover who never leaves me.
i hope that i would truly know The One who loves me.
deuteronomy 31:8
“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
-esv
“God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry.”
-the message
