Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
We have all heard this verse a million times, probably at a wedding. Heck, if you came to my wedding you heard it there, but this verse is so much more than just THAT kind of love. These past 3 weeks have been some of the hardest and most fulfilling weeks of my entire life and they have been filled with love.
I don't think anything happens without a reason and i certainly know God has His hand in every situation we enter. He gives us opportunities to grow closer to Him but He does not force us to take them. When I was 16 and diagnosed with cancer, my mom just started working for Archbishop Donoghue. To say that he was supportive of my mom taking time off to be with me would be an understatement! He was so great!! My mom was able to be with me through every single step of the way because he allowed her so much time off. He knew how important it was for me to be taken care of. I was always thankful for that. Well, God is so faithful because He has given me an opportunity to thank Archbishop for that. Here, 16 years later I am taking care of Archbishop's needs. I have been taking care of him for a few years now ever since he retired and moved into a parish to live. i would check on him every now and then to see if he needed something. As he got older and his dementia was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, it was obvious he was going to need much more one on one care. He moved to St George Village where he has great nurses. He lives with other people with the same horrible disease although he is still much more vocal and able to go out and live a more "normal" life. He obviously can't drive himself and that is where i come in. I drive him to things he wants to go to and out to eat almost every day. Just the 2 of us. It really is one of the best times of my day. He has been part of my family for years, celebrating holidays and birthdays with us so we are comfortable together.
About 3 weeks ago, Archbishop got really dehydrated (it happens a lot with this disease) and had to go to the hospital. It was bad. really bad. I can't even describe how bad he looked and just the thought of trying to describe it brings tears to my eyes, so I won't. There are 3 of us who are with him the most. Me, my mom, and Claud (a friend of ours and Archbishop). That week in the hospital the 3 of us took turns being with him from morning until night. And then again the next day. And then the next. And the next. And so on. As bad as he looked and with the scare of not knowing what the future would bring, it was so refreshing to be able to be with Archbishop and take care of him in the same way he allowed my mom to take care of me 16 years ago. Can you say "What goes around comes around"? There were several moments in the hospital where I swear to you Archbishop was seeing his Guardian Angel and again I was reminded how God has His hand in all of this. (If you want to hear the Guardian Angel story you can ask me in person cause every time I try to type it I burst out crying).
There were several times in the hospital I would just sit staring at Archbishop wondering "why"? Why him? He has spent his whole life serving his people, why this? Although I know I won't ever really know the answer to that question, I think i do know a big part of it. And the answer is "For ME". Maybe he is going through this not for himself but for me. I can't even begin to tell you all the wonderful moments I have had with this man that wouldn't have happened if he was not in this situation. I can't even begin to tell you how much I have learned about myself from serving Archbishop in a very humbling way. I would have never been exposed to Alzheimer patients for so long everyday and love them so much. I would have never had the opportunity to share with Noah how important it is to take care of the elderly in such a tangible way. (Noah and Archbishop share such a great relationship and Archbishop just LIGHTS UP when Noah walks into the room...breath taking). I would never have laughed so hard when Archbishop makes his silly jokes even in the middle of being confused. I would have never witnessed how Archbishop, who needs people to take care of him, still puts others first in EVERY situation...a TRUE Man of God!! So Maybe, just maybe he has finished what God had in store for HIS life and now he is on his next mission from God, to fix ME, to make me a better person (I know you are thinking how could i get any better..hehehe) I truly am blessed!
I ask you to pray for Archbishop. Although he is out of the hospital and getting stronger everyday, he still needs lots of prayers...and so do I! So for my last item on my 10 day challenge, this is the picture i choose....
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