HEARTTROUBLE

     The sun was setting as I drove up my narrow driveway after a day of hard work. Concerns for my elderly parents slipped into my mind. I unlocked my back door and wondered if the phone would ring bringing me news of another crisis. Would the care home inform me that my mother had fallen due to her confusion because of Alzheimer's disease? Or would my dad call to tell me his heart was giving him trouble?

    So far so good. No message was on the call taker. The phone was silent. But my heart was still on call.

    I could hardly wait to relax my tired, aching back in a tub full of hot water and perfumed bubbles. It would also give me a few minutes of quiet time to talk to Jesus and feel Him ease my troubled heart and soul. Oh, what a relief it was!

   Suddenly while soaking, my body and mind jerked to attention. Oh, no. The phone began it's insistent clamor.

"Please come and take me to the doctor. It's my heart," my dad plead.

   While running around trying to get dressed once again, I lifted my thoughts heavenward.

"Lord, please keep his heart beating. Help him not to be afraid. And Lord, please give me the strength I need. Help me learn something from this situation."

"Are you ready, dad?" I called out as I walked up on his front porch and through the front door.

"Not quite. I have to get my shoes on," he answered.

    This trip was not a new one. My dad had undergone quadruple by-pass surgery and been treated at the hospital many times for heart problems. It was not surprising that our arrival again was almost like a family reunion. His nurse and doctor friends talked about the weather, other patients and employees, his work in the past, and other local topics.

I was puzzled. Dad seemed like a different man in this caring environment. I watched his exuberant interaction. Amazingly he seemed to have no pain. What had changed him so rapidly?

   At last I began putting the puzzle pieces together. There was pain for sure. Maybe it had gone unnoticed for too long. However this pain was probably not caused by a heart attack. He was not reaching out from the pain of a diseased heart, but reaching out for help to heal his broken heart.

He was lonely! This was nothing that a doctor could fix. It had been 13 years since his wife had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The stress of many of those years had contributed to his failing health. Even when she was difficult to handle he had someone to care for, someone to talk to even if
her responses were not clear. Now the house was empty. The loss was almost more than he could bear.

With a hug and a kiss I dropped him off at his home after the hospital visit reassuring him that I would call the next day. Through the years my dad has given me so much strength and support. I want more than ever to be a source of strength for him in these last years of his life. These texts from Psalm 71 have been an encouragement to both of us.

   In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame. Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; Incline Your ear to me,and save me. Be my strong habitation, To which I    may resort continually;You have given the commandment to save. For You are my rock and my fortress. Verses 1-3 NKJV.

    Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails. For my enemies speak against me; And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together, Saying, "God has forsaken him;Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him. O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! Verses 9-12 NKJV (Italics added).

Do you know of a lonely person? Is there someone in your church or neighborhood or circle of friends needing an upbeat, loving voice to make their day brighter?

   Jesus tells us, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Matthew 25:40 NKJV.