Tonight was special. I had the privilege of sitting with Mr. Malcolm this evening at the nursing home and keeping him company until it was time for him to go to sleep. We go way back – the two of us; getting close to 50 years now, so it wasn’t like we didn’t have anything to talk about. Actually, I did most of the talking and most of the remembering, and he just listened. Such a gentle-man.
Though Mr. Malcolm is confined to his bed and is unable to convey much of his thoughts, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: his dry sense of humor. When I put a cup to his lips and asked him if he would drink a little nectar for me, he clearly said, “I’ll be glad to do that for you.” When the lady across the hall began her nightly outbursts, he quipped something like, “There she goes again.” And when Ernest T. Bass said, “How do you do, Mrs. Wiley,” he chuckled pretty heartedly. The rest of our conversation was uncertain, but we talked nonetheless, and he truly seemed as glad for me to be sitting next to him as I was to be there.
Each time I leave Mr. Malcolm’s side, there’s always a lump in my throat and normally tears in my eyes. It’s hard to watch time take its toll on a person’s mind and body – even though I’m very confident his spirit is being renewed daily, praise God. But tonight the swell rose a little more quickly. After we had said his prayers, I told him I was leaving and I said, “Goodnight.” To which he said, “Goodnight.” And when I said, “I love you,” he turned and looked me square in the eyes and responded with extreme clarity, “I love you, too.”
Love is strong. It rises above and beyond earth’s limitations and finds a place all its own: in the forever alive spirit of one who knows and rests in Jesus. God is love.
4 comments:
Nancy,
On behalf of the Davis, Wills, Wood and Greer families, we thank you for the sweet things you said about daddy. You have known daddy long enough to be able to remember all of the wonderful years God allowed us to enjoy him. And now, although he can't always say what he would want to, he still knows us and does respond to "I love you" at the end of each visit. We are so thankful for friends like you who have given countless hours sitting with him and spending time having conversations with him and if he could say it he would say thank you also. We praise God for every day and for family and friends.
Love you
Claire
I love Malcom and Linda. I pray for them every day. I ask that God be given the glory in this situation. I miss the "old" Malcom, but the new Malcom has his moments. God bless Malcom, Linda, and the rest of the family.
I caught up on your blog today---very awesome and thought provoking. I really appreciate your blog on Mr. Malcom-- it was encouraging to me. My heart aches for him and Linda. The time being stolen from them by dementia. Patrick and I usually sit with him on the late shift, he has already taken his sleeping pill by the time we arrive, so he is only awake about an hour. He returns our greetings, then he talks a lot but we can only understand a few things. Sometimes he says something and then just cracks up! We get tickled—he is such an adorable man. He has such pretty eyes. He is busy “working” while we are there-Linda seems to think he is “working” at his electrical job. When I respond to him, he looks around toward my voice and looks at me like “who are you and when did you come in and sit over there?” So I tend to be quiet as it seems less confusing to him. He seems to focus more on the side of the bed where Patrick sits. One time we were watching a pro football game and Patrick said to me , “Hey , there is so-and-so from UGA”. Mr Malcom responded with a scoff-“no it isn’t”. Patrick said “yes it is”, mr. maclcom said “no it isn’t”. We just giggled to ourselves.
Keep blogging, Grace Girl!!
Oh yeah—I pray for him and Linda and all of their loved ones while I sit quietly beside him. It is good to know Jesus is taking care of all their needs.
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