Let’s face it, life can be the pits. A 90-year-old caring for his or her spouse of 60 years who has Alzheimer’s disease isn’t driven by the warm, fuzzy feeling. I had a delightful friend who went home to be with the Lord a few years ago. Homer was in his 80’s. He got deathly ill and stayed that way for months and months.
On one of my weekly visits near the end I walked in the bedroom to find Homer sitting up, wearing his Atlanta Braves baseball cap, tee shirt, sweats and slippers. The look on his face told me he was in great pain. I asked him how it was going that day/week. I’ll never forget the way he looked at me with that look on his face that said, “My gas tank is almost empty”. The twinkle that used to mark his ways was just barely there. But, he said this to me with a wink, “Preacher, I’m still here, but with this pain there ain’t much romance in it!”