helping with Miss Marion

This photo was taken back in the early spring.

Caregiving an elderly family member could possibly become a part of your life, and many times it comes unexpectedly.

I have a small blog I entitled Shadow Pearls for the seventeen months I was the prime caregiver for both of my parents. It was sometimes the best of times and sometimes the worst of times. And my attitude and trust in the Lord is what helped to make it something I can now look back on with the blessing it did give me and my family overall. It was not a worldly blessing at all, it was downright hard, yet the blessing received was deep, wide and rich because to care for those who need you, those who cared for you when you needed them, comes around to a full circle and you see the Lord's abundant grace and  never ending mercy. I was glad when I was doing it and I am even more glad now that I was able to do it then.

There is a family in my church that cares for his mother in their home. She has dementia. My heart knows what they are living day by day, evening by evening. It is such a privilege to give them a bit of time so they can at the least pretend life is "normal". I tell the daughter-in-law that while others have no framework to understand what they are doing, I do understand and it is a joy for me to come alongside them in little ways.

This past Saturday Miss Marion came to our home and my husband and I kept her all day so this family could go with their visiting daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter for a day of fun and adventure. I love her and she has paved a grove in my heart.