I've been getting up early the last week, in order to be prepared for the care giver's arrival to help Steve get started with his day. The Lord gave me some discoveries along the way, like turning up the heat before Steve awakes; and that I may not always be the best-equipped person to help my disabled husband when he is staggering off balance. Our caregiver provides extra security for both of us!
The Lord had a gift for our caregiver, too. He and his family went to a non-denominational Christian church on Sunday, and he just could not stop talking about the way everyone brought their Bible, how he could follow what the pastor was saying so much better than in the church he'd been taken to as a child, where huge Bibles are just laid on an altar in the front! He was also amazed by the congregation's singing, actually enjoying praising God. He hadn't brought a Bible, and didn't know the words to the songs, but I assured him that the lyrics are generally easy to catch onto. He said the people were so friendly, and they all treated each other like they'd been together their whole lives. He can't wait to go back!! That church sounds like the church described in Ephesians 4:18b-19:
...be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
Thank you, God, for using Steve's situation, and the tough tasks we have to perform at this juncture, to start conversations about hope in the Lord and the Word, that we have been able to be witnesses for You!
Last night on our Legacy Unit conference call, our Sales Director Laurie launched a new program goal for us: to provide 80 Mint Bliss foot creams for the daycare participants at Riverside's Care Connexxus where Steve goes once a week, and 70 more for the Alzheimer's residents at Somerford in Redlands. She asked me to describe for the other consultants the center where Steve goes, and their annual Christmas party. As we sell the foot creams to customers, their payment will buy that product for an elderly or disabled person. Our effort is called "Adopt a Grandparent 2011."
How gracious of the Lord to use what we call tragic to bring joy to others! We may never know how our testimony for the Lord Jesus will reverberate through the centuries and across the globe. Psalm 4:6-7a says,
There are many who say,
"Who will show us any good?"
The Psalmist gives the answer to doubters and naysayers:
You have put gladness in my heart.
Yes, He has!!
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