Night and Day Care

She just loved little Peter

Sometime in my early twenties, I formed the conviction that day care for children and for the old-- was bunk--that people should take care of their own! I determined to be a stay- at- home- Mom and that as opportunity would arise I would welcome my parents and grands to live with us as well.

My Grandma and I had never been close. I spent two months with her and Grandpa the summer I was 13 but other than that her visits were short and somewhat seldom. She spent her time traveling and with her senior friends.

But, Grandma came to live with us when she was 89 and I was 42, for the last 6 months of her life.

My Mom and my Aunt Carol had been taking care of her for a few years but it was getting hard to leave her at home when she went to work. Grandma wasn't safe, left the water running and things like that. So we offered to have her live with us not thinking she would because we were outspoken Christians and Grandma had given up her faith some 25 years earlier. I didn't think she'd want to risk having us preach to her or trying to "lead her back to the Lord". So, I was shocked when she took us up on the idea. When my Mom called and said she'd be coming to us, Grandma got on the phone and asked in her old lady voice "Are you prepared to take care of me 'til the day I die?" Well, that was the idea. We didn't feel prepared, just willing. We had alot to learn.

  Ruthie pushing her Great Grandma outside

We got her moved and situated in her own room, across the hall from ours. She joined us for meals and took outings on the deck but mostly we visited with her in her room.

A special meal with friends

After some weeks she began to ask questions and make comments about how the family was functioning. How Jeff lead and we followed. How I directed and the children helped and obeyed. How everything seemed to work together and run (pretty) smoothly. She started to enjoy being part of it all.

Three months into our time with her she called to me in the night one night, crying and tossing to and fro from a bad dream. In her dream she was being put into a body bag and thrown out into a corn field. In vain I tried to console her. She asked me to pray for her to have the peace she once knew and I did, but it didn't help, so I urged her to pray for herself. She refused, claiming that there was a black spot in her heart and she could not pray. Finally, I convinced her to pray and ask God to take away the spot and help her... AND HE DID!!! She began exclaiming immediately "I've got it! I've got it again! I've got back the PEACE that I once had!" Following this she began feebly singing the old hymn "Love Lifted Me". When she had sung all she knew she had me sing it too! Once I had sung all I knew she made me bring the hymnal in and sing every verse! Finally, she told me to go to bed, that she'd be alright now, that I needed sleep. But before I left she made me promise to tell Jeff and the children to come into her room first thing in the morning so that she could tell them what had happened. Agreeing to, I left her there singing herself to sleep.

Grandma's prayer

The following day she had me call my Mom and ask her to FedEx her old New Testament to her immediately. And I did. Next day she was clutching it to her breast and crying over it for a quarter of an hour. Then with magnifier in hand she began reading it again and again.

       

Jesus was alive and well and working in her heart. Forgiveness was sought for some of the biddy things she had said and done, and of course it was joyfully given! Thereafter we spent many precious times singing with her and reading to her from God's Word. Romans 8 being her favorite chapter.

We'll never be able to count the blessings we received in that short 6 months with Grandma. We learned lots about elder-care, lots of family history, lots of patience and lots about God. He is faithful to begin the good work He begins in us!

I was sinking deep in sin,
Far from the peaceful shore,
Very deeply stained within,
Sinking to rise no more;
But the master of the sea
Heard my despairing cry,
From the waters lifted me,
Now safe am I.

Love lifted me!
Love lifted me!
When nothing else could help,
Love lifted me....