Posted by I was over at Mom’s today as a new care giver was being trained in. She’s a refugee from Kenya and has been in the United States for seven years. I fed Mama while our regular care giver showed “Ruth” around.
After lunch Mama is helped into the bedroom and changed and freshened up before her nap. It took awhile today because Mama was pretty messy. And the whole process is a bit stressful for her and she hollers. And the whole time Dad waits on the bed, ready to hold her up if she tries to flop back before they are finished.
But once she was cleaned up, they tucked Mama into bed. And Dad cuddled next to her and put his arm around her and said in soothing tones, “I’m here for you, Nina. I’m here. I’m here for you.” And Mama calmed down as she nestled warm and close to Dad.
I met up with Ruth in the kitchen after this and saw that she was choking up and blinking back tears. “Oh the love he has for her!” she said. “Such love!”
And I blinked back tears and nodded in agreement. They’ve been married over sixty years now. And I am blessed to see their love lived out in sickness and in health, in good times and bad.
Such love! Such precious love!
P.S. This is a photo Daddy carried in his wallet for I don’t know how many years. Maybe until his eyes got so bad he couldn’t see it anymore. I wouldn’t restore it if I knew how, because the worn look of it speaks so well of the faithfulness of the man who cherished it.
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I wrote this post three years ago. Mama and Daddy are both with Jesus now. I take comfort in that truth, but I miss them both so much.
And as I read this post today, I realize again how my dad’s love for Mama is such a picture of the love that God has for each of His children. We all have stressful and difficult things in our lives. And things we don’t understand that hurt.
But God is right next to us. Over and over in the Bible God comforts His people with words of, “Fear not. I will be with you.” He’s reaching out His arms to us and telling us that He is here. He is right here for us. He holds us close and helps us bear the hard times. He reassures us of His faithful love and tender mercies.
He loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, so that all who believe in Him can live with Him for eternity! And He sent the Holy Spirit to give us comfort and guidance until then. He offers us forgiveness for all our sins when we repent of them and turn to Him and trust Him with our lives.
He gives us grace for today and hope for tomorrow. He watches over us. He’s our faithful shepherd, our gracious provider and our powerful protector. He’s worthy of all our praise!
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 (KJV)
Oh the love He has for us! Oh the love He has for YOU! Such love!
God's Grace and Life's Challenges 
I love this place. I read your posts and am taken back to mom and her journey with Lewy Body. She, also, has gone home to be with the Lord, and I look forward to joining her one day. In the meantime, reading your posts sometimes puts her right here, next to me again. That is a gift, thank you.
This is so beautiful! My mom had Alzheimer’s and my father took care of her until he could no longer. He had lost so much weight, didn’t sleep full nights because mom didn’t. He never changed us kid’s diapers but he did for mom. He bathed her, fed her and loved her so completely. To the very end, she knew Dad was her guy and the loved they shared showed in her eyes. Mom is gone now and Dad is in the nursing home and he talks about her every day in the sweetest ways, saying if he could do it all over again he would live each day just as they did.
This is a video of my parents, there is no doubt the love they shared was real, deep and forever.
A most precious post!
how sweet of your dad to have that photo in his wallet
I love that, too!