“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”—John 1:5 (NLT)
Last week, I talked about how we have to be open to change in our lives and that sometimes that change might be our perspective on life. I choose to focus not on the name change of my book but that God has a plan and I have to trust that He knows best. This got me thinking about an incident this past fall when my mother-in-law was ill and no longer able to leave the room like she was used to doing. One day, out of frustration, she said, “I am so sick and tired of looking at these 4 walls. I didn’t say it, but I kind of felt the same way about her room.
A few days later, Joan, one of the ladies from the “knitting club” that I started at the facility, came to knit in her room with her. As she sat down in her chair next to my mother-in-law she was in awe of the view my mother-in-law had from the window in her bedroom that she could see from the living area where she was seated. She said, ”what a beautiful view you have.” We all looked at her with a puzzled look. But Joan saw the beauty looking out that window. What she saw versus what I saw? I saw a window, with blinds and a tree, yet she saw God’s majesty of light and greenery outside that window. That’s called, “Perspective.” She choose to see beauty in the darkness of that room.
Since my mother-in-law’s passing I still have “knitting club with Joan. She is one of the most fun loving women at the place. Many people live here because they have memory or major health issues. In the year my mother-in-law lived at this facility, there were numerous passings. I can’t help but wonder how many of them knew the Lord. Maybe that is why I volunteer there on a regular basis. If I can be a light in someone’s last days here, it makes those visits worth it.
If you have a heart for the geriatric population, I encourage you to volunteer once a month at some type of senior living center. This is a population that many seem to forget about.
Dear Lord,
Help me to be a light in a world where there is so much darkness. Open my eyes to someone that needs to see the love of Jesus. I pray for those in assisted living facilities that don’t have family or friends that come to visit them. Help us to remember Psalm 71:9, “And now, in my old age, don't set me aside. Don't abandon me when my strength is failing.” (NLT). I ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.
It is the end of the month, if you are joining me with this month’s memory verse, “For we live by faith, not by sight.”—2 Corinthians 5:7, How did you do? I don’t know about you, but this was a scripture that I really needed to have ingrained in my heart. It has and is getting me through this book writing/editing process.
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