Memory
Lane
Scripture: ‘Lord,
when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to
drink?38 When did we see you a stranger
and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we
see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I
tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters
of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25: 37-40
Over time I have noticed that a change of season usually
brings a flood of memories. I am not
sure why that happens for me, but I bet it does for a lot of people. The fall smells like Friday night high school
football games, makes you crave caramel apples and makes you want to sit by a
campfire. The spring feels like an egg
hunt is around the corner, smells like rain is coming and calls to mind the day
my first-born child came home from the hospital. Summer smells like days spent playing
outside, sunscreen, and picnic lunches.
You get the idea.
My new job gives me odd down times alone, which I am
discovering I haven’t experienced much in my lifetime. This week I went for a couple of fall walks in
the early afternoon. One on a trail near
the Natchez Chase and the other along the road near my hotel. While walking near a shopping strip mall, I
saw a woman guiding an elderly man toward the Veterans Center. I recognized his gate: short steps,
reluctance, confusion. I could tell he
had either Alzheimer’s or Dementia. Having
dealt with these diseases I know that they often need a distraction instead of
a focus.
I walked up and acted like I knew the couple and hadn’t seen
them in years. I took the old man by the
hand, held open the door and helped him find a seat inside while his female care-giver
signed in. His words were hardly recognizable. Most of them didn’t really go together. Occasionally he would ask me where I had
been. He mentioned Maryland. He told me I looked good. LOL! I
studied his eyes, his hair, his weathered face.
There was this moment when I wondered about the life he had forgotten, the
memories I could recall, but with which he had lost touch. “O God,” I prayed, “unlock the beauty for him,
unlock the beauty for me.”
I was indeed looking into the eyes of the ones Jesus referred
to as the least of these; a life jaded by disease and suffering. How many people there are out there suffering
whose lives are overlooked and forgotten?
It is easy to live our “normal” lives and overlook them. When was the last time I had paused to
acknowledge the life of a veteran who may or may not have done something
heroic? Aren’t all lives heroic in some
way even if gone unseen? In that moment
I remembered many thankless acts I have failed to acknowledge. I recalled my own father and his loss of
touch with his memories. I saw my life
rush before my eyes and hoped that I didn’t forget this moment.
I bid my farewells and headed back to my walk. The funny thing was I think the female
caregiver thought she should have known me too.
LOL! I didn’t try to explain, I
simply explained to God that I recognized Him in the eyes of that elderly man. I saw him in the exhaustion on the face of
the lady. I knew in that moment I spent
too much time looking at my problems and not enough time helping others find
peace in the midst of their problems. I
didn’t remember God this fall. God
remembered me.
Prayer : Almighty God, give us eyes to see the subtle
ways you speak to us through smells, sounds, songs, and memories. We know you are speaking, give us ears to
hear You. Amen.
Prayer
Starter: As you
go about your normal everyday life: grocery, exercise, errands, ask God to show you the
least of these and how you can help.
