On Monday
nights, our church has Mission Night. People pray, write letters, visit people
in the community, and sing hymns to the residents as the nursing homes. We
often go sing as a family at the nursing home. We are not any of us great
singers, but it doesn’t matter because that’s not what it is about. It is an
opportunity to praise God in song as well as to bless the residents with the
beautiful truth of God’s Word, presented through the hymns, and just to show
them someone cares enough to visit them. I believe that this is a great way to
honor our Savior.
It is often
sad to see residents in the depths of dementia or just the weakness that comes
with age. I see the curse of sin about this earth, how our bodies deteriorate
as we near death. We were created to live forever. Sin entered the world and
with it death. Praise God that He sent Jesus to redeem us, to give us back
eternal life, to not only forgive us for our disobedience but to step in and
take our punishment that we might have His perfect righteousness. It isn’t too
late for these people though. They can still hear God’s truth and be saved, not
saved from an earthly death, but saved from an eternal death. They can walk
from this life into His eternal glory with Jesus as the Savior. Many of them
know Jesus, and they just need to be reminded of His love and comforted by His
promises of Heaven. I love to sing that truth, to sing about the cross and
about Glory.
I was
greatly blessed at the nursing home last night. I had silently prayed that this
would be a time of worship and also bring comfort to the residents. Across the
room I saw a woman struggling in her wheel chair, trying to get out. She had a
strap on her so that she would not fall. I could see the distress on her face,
the confusion, and the fear. I stood there and continued to sing, not sure if I
should walk over there, not sure how I could help. As I saw her continue, I
decided that I should go. I walked across and pushed her wheelchair up to
table. She told me that she had to go home, that her mother wanted her home,
that is was dangerous to stay out late. Oh the heartbreak that dementia brings.
I tried to calmly tell her that I was going to sing some songs with her. She
was panicking. I told her that she would be taken care of, that I was going to
sing about Jesus. I stood there and began singing the hymn along with the
others across the room. She started to calm and she closed her eyes. We sang a
few songs, and I thought perhaps she had fallen asleep, but she looked up at me
and said, “That’s so nice.” God was blessing her with peace through the hearing
of those hymns. I continued to sing out the truth of those hymn (broken through
tears), thinking of the great truth, praying it comforted her heart and another
resident who looked panicked and needed this healing truth of Jesus. I sang to
the other woman and smiled as I thought of my Savior and Heaven. She closed her
eyes again and then would look up and smile. As we sang the last song, she was
now beaming and singing along. I prayed for her to have peace as we left and
she thanked us for coming. Oh the joy that filled my heart as I saw God’s
mighty hand of love. Oh how I love my Savior and the truth of His Word.
As I read
my Bible after I returned home, I was reading in Psalms and hearing God speak about
singing to Him, about how worthy is He, how great are His works, His love, His
mercies, and also about Him not forsaking us in our old age. Oh how I cherish His Word and how He nourishes us by it and through it.
“Do not cast me off
in the time of old age;
Do not forsake me
when my strength fails.”
Psalm 71:9
