Grandmother's Prayer

Although suffering with Alzheimer's disease, Grandmother was asked to say the Thanksgiving prayer.

By G. Taylor Brown, Sylacauga, Alabama

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My grandmother was affected with Alzheimer's disease, and when she was no longer able to live alone, she went to stay at my uncle's house.

She needed help to dress. She lived in a constant state of confusion. She could still make sentences as she rambled on, but her sentences made no sense.

There was no way to carry on a conversation with her. And no longer was it feasible for her to attend church. She was literally cut off from everything she had treasured—including God.

When we arrived at Uncle Charlie's for Thanksgiving, Grandmother was in the thick of the preparations, hindering all that had to be done. She was into everything. She had no idea that this was Thanksgiving, and she seemed bent on making the meal a shambles.

By the time we finally gathered in the dining room, all of us were on edge. Then came the shock from my uncle.

"Grandmama, as the eldest here, would you offer thanks?" he said with a note of deep respect in his voice.

I glanced at my wife, my aunt, my cousins. They were all horror-struck! I looked back at my uncle, hoping I had misunderstood, or that he was merely making a poor joke. But I saw by the set of his jaw that he was serious.

Then Grandmother clasped her aged hands and said in quiet dignity, "Let us pray..." Her regal bearing came back. Head bowed, she remembered that this was Thanksgiving after all.

She mentioned by name her children who were absent that day, recalling the Lord's goodness in their lives. She offered up each one of us there for future service, asking that we might come to share her delight in God's grace. She closed by asking God to bless the limited time we had together, so that we may truly enjoy one another, concluding, "This in the name of Christ. Amen."

Eighteen years have passed since that day. Grandmother's prayer was a turning point in my thinking. I know from what I witnessed that God does not ever cruelly abandon us.

Even when all else might fail—even in the throes of something as debilitating as Alzheimer's disease—life still has meaning under our ever-present God.