Let's Talk Words #2

Let’s Talk Words 2

In the next few blogs, I will be sharing what these words mean to me as an Alzheimer’s person.   Today, I am sharing what these 5 words mean to me:  God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Surrender and Will. 

God!     I found God when I was 8 yrs old. When our family moved to another city, I asked my dad if I could go to the church around the corner, he said OK.    I don’t remember going to church earlier except when my mom and dad would tell me stories that we did.  So God was there with me from the beginning of my life.  I loved him.  I was afraid of him too.   I read my Bible and I heard what he did to people that he did not like.  I was scared that I would do something wrong and would go to hell.  As my life went on, there were good times and bad times with me walking away from him.  I wanted my life in my way.  I would come back to him and leave until I was in my late 50s and God sent a book to me.  In that book I found out that God is love, unconditional love.   No more fear!  Now I know God is with me every step of the way.  When I heard I am an Alzheimer’s person and I cried, God reminded me I was still alive.  I was his daughter.  Then he told me that since I am alive, go out and share.  Share what?   Share his Love to others, His presence with Him and we are alive.

Jesus!     Jesus, the son of God!    To me, Jesus is my mentor, Savior, Living Lord, Redeemer, brother, amazing, glorious Lord, teacher.  As I read my bible, he becomes my friend and I want to follow him.  Sometimes (too many times) I walk away from the way.  And as I am a lamb, he is my shepherd and will bring me back to the green pastures.  He teaches me to take care of all creation.  I read the parables and I know that I am in the wrong way and I need to turn around onto another path.  Here is a song that reminds me that Jesus is my Master and Savior.

There Is Something About That Name

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus 
There's just something about that name 
Master, Savior, Jesus 
Like the fragrance after the rain 
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus 
Let all Heaven and Earth proclaim 
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away 
But there's something about that Name. 

   --Gloria Gaither and William J. Gaither

Scripture is important to me and this is the first one I learned at 8yrs old:  

John 3:16   For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, that every one that believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. 

Back then I could read it by memory, today it took me about 5 minutes to write it.

Holy Spirit!  I learned the words, Holy Spirit.  I knew that it was important to God and Jesus.  It has taken over sixty years of my journey to kind of understand who He was.  When I first heard the word Spiritual, I thought I had it.    Climbing up the years my thoughts changed.  Hmm, this is hard to find the letters, the words to explain how I feel of the Holy Spirit.  I believe that in my body the Holy Spirit is working with me to connect to the Trinity.  Why do I think this?  It is the nudge on my shoulder that says pick up the phone and call the person in need.  Or, when my brain is playing games with me, I am told, let go and let God take care of me.  Or, when I think that I am right and the other person is wrong, it is ok to just listen, after all they think that they are right I am wrong and it makes me smile.  And, the best of it all:  the Holy Spirit gives me gifts.  He gives me words that will keep me to remember and they are in my Bible and in my brain.  Here they are:  

 

Galatians 5:22-23 … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

 

If I follow the Holy Spirit, I can use these words to help others to have serenity as it does for me.

Surrender!  Will!     Wow, all my life I struggle with these words.   To me it meant to give up, follow the leaders, don’t have a mind, do it their way, it is Ok to make fun of people, and it meant that I let others run my life.  I had no worth, my words did not matter.  I was one of those in church that came to services, sat in the back seats and be out the door first after the service was over.  Yet, in my mind, I wanted to be someone, have friends. And, I tried and tried.  But, I wanted it my way now.  I want to be the leader, the smart one, the right one.   It did not work. 

In 2005, I was struggling with my body, my brain, my emotions, my spiritual life, and did not know what to do.  I was nudged to go on my knees and to say: God, I can’t do this anymore.  I will do anything you tell me to do.  I surrender.  I surrendered!     I was surprised to find out there was one more word that goes with surrendering:  Will. Oh, what does this mean?  I looked to Merriam-Webster.  Will:  used to express desire, choice, willingness, consent.  I can see that Will can be a choice. I have made a promise to follow the Lord’s will for the rest of my life.  I don’t always want to do what God wants me to do, but if I don’t, I mess up.  When I do what He wants me to do, it is a Blessing.  Now, we always have our wills. God lets us use our wills and we can choose our will.. I pray every morning sometimes on my knees, in a chair, or my bed and I want to end the prayer to say: Lord, help me remember your will not mine.  Sometimes, I forget to pray. Just now I had a nudge to remember that Christ had a choice to walk away or go on the cross.  I don’t want to walk way, but if I chose to do my will, not God’s will, I am on my own.  I would know what I did wrong and pray for forgiveness and God forgives me.  Thank You Lord!

God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Surrender and Will.   These words are amazing.  I was looking for a scripture to connect the five words and what they mean to me.  It means to me that those words can keep me close to God. 

Matthew 28:18-20

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”(To me, these words mean keep going and share to all.)

In Blog #3, I will be sharing what the other words mean to me as an Alzheimer’s person:  Love, Peace, Joy, Hope, Prayers! 

Do you have your own meaningful words in your life?