ONCE I WAS SEVENTY, NOW I AM 6 … Dementia is not inevitable.
“… COMFORT THE FEEBLE MINDED, SUPPORT THE WEAK …” 1 Thessalonians 5;14
“If I knew where my Mother was … I’d meet her there … but, Where is she?” That’s the cry of a bewildered daughter and many millions more who, in despair and helplessness watch their loved one’s drift away within themselves, never to return … Senility, Dementia, Memory Loss or, the frightening term, “Alzheimers”
REVERING THE ELDERLY … Leviticus 19;32, Proverb 16;31 Foreign to our hedonistic, humanistic “world” The Bible principle is to revere those of Senior years, to honour them and esteem them. Israel of old respected the Patriarchs of the Nation, and Heads of the Family. The embracing of Evolution affects our admiration and “elevation” of the stronger of the species … Hitlerism is not “dead” … jettisoning the “unworthy” … the infirm … “exterminating” the beleaguered, whether physically or mentally was deemed to be the way to preserve and promote a Master Race, idolatry at its worse. Such is the power of the Media that body image is paramount for so many, wrecking lives and minds, relationships and future happiness and stability. In short, it is a commitment to “the lust of the eye, and … the pride of life”
REASSURING THE MAIMED … Dementia is the plight of a growing amount of Seniors today … medical science races against time to find a cure, or to stop its development … the need for understanding, of the condition is vital. But as the mind begins to fade and fold within, its soon evident that constant reassurance is needed … “Once I was 70, but now I am six” indicates the return to childhood patterns of thought, repetition in speech, forgetfulness in the mind, childlike uncertainties and fears envelopes the mind and plays havoc with the emotions, hence cries, and panic attack’s.
REFRESHING THE SOUL, AWAKENING THE SPIRIT … Music “hath charms” its commonly thought. From the days of a Israel’s King David and the prophets the playing of the harps and the “sweet songs” they sang brought a receptivity to receiving the Holy Spirit of God … this we see in our Palliative Care ministry every week, for the elderly that are free from dementia our playing lifts the spirit as entertainment, for the stricken, whether mentally or terminally ill, its ministry and it can “heal” and soothe emotional upheaval.
RETELLING “THE STORY” … The comfort of the Scriptures is a wonderful reality … reading the Word of God helps not only the patient but also the carer. A dear friend stricken with rapid Alzheimer’s had the Bible read daily … the reader became a committed Believer just through the quiet reading and the unfolding and revelation of The Word of God.
REAPING THE FRUIT … Of course it’s tedious, harrowing in fact, and heart breaking, without adequate support the burden is too great to bear … but with the support and help of various means and services this can be alleviated … but not wholly: few human agencies or even ministries can heal the helplessness and heartache as you witness the slow death of a loved one. At the time when the loved one passes away the comforting assurance is two fold, one is that the Loved one is freed from his or her suffering … but in a secondary sense the bereaved have a sense of closure when they know they have lovingly and consistently supported their loved one. That brings a deep sense of peace.
We do care for our senior loved ones and seek to be with them in all the phases of their existence and their preparation for Eternity.