Thursday, July 19, 2007

aging part 2

aging
another way in which ministry stinks at times is the constant watching people age and decline.
vibrant, functioning, men and women become lumps of disorder and dependance knowing nothing that goes on around them.

this morning I received a call from a woman's granddaughter-in-law.
The woman has been diagnosed with alzheimer's . . .
I saw her just weeks ago. She had been in the hospital for pneumonia, but seemed her usual self. Now she is already disoriented and wandering around the house.
Things change so quickly.

I questioned the diagnosis since she is declining so rapidly, but turns out it is true and because she had brain surgery years ago for an aneurism the fluid is depleating quickly on that portion of the brain. I really do not know too much about the disease, but that it takes the most vital people and robs them of vitality as well as intellect. The doctor told the family members who care for her he will fill out the paperwork for them to have FMLA for 6-8 weeks if they so desire. That should be all the time they need he said.

Oh, my heart aches.
Ministry stinks at times.
Yet, the woman says a visit from me, the pastor, is welcome and would probably help.
What a priviledge.
A joy of ministry is to be welcome and even wanted when no one else is allowed access to people. I feel honored and oh so lacking in wisdom and knowledge as how to fill such shoes!

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