February 22, 2012
My Soul Wells Up!
Hallelujahs by Chris Rice- Lyrics
The Lord is gracious. HE has kept my mom. HE holds her close.
She has been sick with flu-like symptoms. She forgets how to cough, and ends up choking. I am aware of her breathing day and night. Her breathing is shallow at night when she sleeps, and she chokes on her saliva every night. She sleeps in a semi-prone position to improve oxygenation and increase lung volume, and respiratory mechanics in general. I have to turn her, sit her up, and she has to catch her breath. She needs cleaning up during the night.
She has grown more feeble and some days she cannot straighten herself up. Tonight she had an episode. I was walking her to the bathroom, (these days she leans on us and the walker when she walks). She is in-between the walker and the wheelchair.
I was able to get her to the bed, before her eyes turned glassy, and she was unresponsive. I do the usual maneuvers to get her to come to, and then we go through the usual assessment and recognition questions. She usually tells me things like she did tonight, “Did you see all the little children surrounding us, like angels, dressed in white?”
I must have mentioned previously in this blog that when she is going to have “an event” (that is the term her doctor uses), I literally walk into the presence of a heavy fragrance like roses, as if the room were full from top to bottom with bushels and bushels of roses. My sister also experiences this same fragrance. The Lord has graced us with this fragrance for the past 23 years. My sister and I feel it is the Lord’s fragrance giving us his blessed assurance. Well, I smelled the fragrance at my door step when returning from walking the dogs, and I took a deep breath, and commended “things” to God.
Taking care of an elderly parent is not easy, and I thank God that my sister watches out for my mom too! My brother is not far away at night, so there is some relief in that knowledge.
I just feel this great need to urge you to love your parents. Love them while you have them. It is such a reward to see that smile on their lips, the twinkle in their eyes, and a sweetness in their voice. Don’t let there be distance between you and your mom or dad. Just get over yourself and your needs, and “walk” a minute in their shoes. The Lord will reward you in so many ways.
This scripture whispers in my heart, Ecclesiastes 4:12 (Amplified Version) – “And though a man might prevail against him who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Yes, a three cord strength…that’s a picture of my mother, myself and the Lord. Sometimes, it is my sister, myself and my mom. Often times it is a three-cord prayer like Daniel in the bible (praying three times a day) as it is recorded in Daniel 6:10. Sometimes it is a three cord strand of faith, hope and love, and always it is a strong unity cord of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
Most days I shout out to my spirit “hold onto the rope” meaning of course the threefold cord. A strong cord or a “rope” is recorded for excellent use when Paul (Saul) was let down in a basket (Acts 9), and I’m sure a rope was used. How about the man lowered through the roof to see Jesus (Luke 5). I bet a rope was involved in these “rescues.”
The Holy Spirits shows me that whether we are on either end of this rope, this cord, we are either receivers or givers of his grace, making us an instrument of great grace through Jeus Christ who enables us.
The Spirit further prompts me to read Isaiah 61:1-3 (Amplified Version):
1THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound,
2To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] [a]and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion–to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit–that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Yes Lord, I whisper, help me to be a rope, an instrument, a vessel to lighten the load for my mother. A cord, a rope for her to hold on tight to when her legs fail her.
I pray that you too, extend your “rope” today…
A Parent’s Love – I Cried After Watching This… from cealagar
