Freefall of the Mind

Tears. Old people crying. My friends of 30 years crying. It's hard to make sense. One friend wasn't crying--he is 92 years old and the youngest of 4 siblings--all still living. My friend has Alzheimer's or Big Al as we've come to call it. Big Al has him. My friend is a hero--he survived the beaches during the invasion of Normandy. He has been a wonderful model of a Christian who walks the walk.

Now that he no longer understands what is going on, he can be seen slumped down in his big recliner--a recliner that now dwarfs him rather than comfortably accommodating him the way it used to. He mumbles--but he mumbles prayers. He can be heard thanking God, telling Jesus he loves him. When he looks up at his wife, he gazes straight into her eyes and says, "Bee, I love you so much." But he can't remember how to dress himself.

Sometimes his Alzheimer's causes him to mix up faith and history. If there can be a humorous side to such a treacherous enemy, it comes out in my friend's professions of faith. Apparently he occasionally mixes up Jesus with Teddy Roosevelt. Sometimes his prayers sound like "I love you, Lord, but I carry a big stick." When I left him yesterday, he blessed me.

But why were there so many tears yet none from this generous man? My friends were turned out of their own church. Except the court ruled it wasn't theirs. They had attended this beautiful old downtown church for an average of 40 years each. They had given faithfully to its financial upkeep and missions. They had weathered all the storms every congregation has to endure. They endured also. All 130 of them. Yet yesterday was their last Sunday. The court ruled the building belonged to a small group of less than 2 dozen people of whom most had not set foot inside the door for decades, if ever.

So, there were many tears. This congregation will be just fine--but they will have lost something beautiful. For many, it was the place they expected to have their funerals. It was a building filled with memories of marriages and baptisms and yes, sadness at times. It roared with a spiritual life I've rarely found anywhere else. I'm glad my friend's mind didn't comprehend what was happening. He already carries what the church is really about inside his heart. He had no need of tears. He was too busy blessing everyone.