THE UPPER ROOM 27 APRIL 2024 DEVOTIONAL, SATURDAY MESSAGE
TOPIC: Persevering in Love
TODAY’S READING
Psalm 71:7-18
Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent. – Psalm 71:9 (NRSVUE)
“The elevator is broken again,” my 93-year-old mother stated for the fourth time during our phone conversation. I contacted her assisted-living facility and learned that the elevator was not broken. The sad truth is that, due to the onset of dementia, she sometimes forgets how to use it.
Over the past two years, I’ve learned firsthand that having a family member whose memory, perception, and reasoning are failing is extremely challenging. Several months ago, after working all day and helping my mother for a few hours in the evening, I felt completely exhausted and tearfully cried out to God, “I can’t keep doing this!” God answered by offering vivid memories of how brilliant, creative, funny, independent, and loving my mother had been.
This softened my attitude about caring for her. Instead of seeing it only as an exhausting responsibility, I saw the blessing in being able to provide my mother with the same love and support she had selflessly given to me throughout my life.
As her dementia progresses, there continue to be times when caring for my mother is demanding, discouraging, and depressing. With God’s support, though, I can pause to take a deep breath, whisper a prayer of thanks for having grown up with her as my mother, and persevere in love.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Thank you, God, for the love and support we too often take for granted. Help us to persevere in loving those who need our care. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
God is with me even in my most difficult times.
PRAYER FOCUS
Caregivers of persons with dementia
The Upper Room 27 April 2024 Devotional Message. The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together. Read More