I Will Not Forget You

I was privileged to teach a wonderful woman (J) in a Memory Care Nursing Home to draw with pastels yesterday. She was so appreciative. She had been a life-long artist. The activity director wanted to give her a special treat, so called me, and asked if I would do a private lesson. I don't often do private lessons, but agreed, since I love teaching the elderly to draw. And it was a paid gig! I noticed instantly when I met her that she wore a cross around her neck. A fellow Christian!
"What a beautiful necklace," I said. She did not seem to know what I was talking about, as though perhaps she had forgotten she wore the necklace.

J was like a sponge. She followed my directions explicitly. When she finished her beautiful sunset over water scene, she said, "Fair to middlin'. "  She told the activity director that it had been a lot of fun, and that the teacher was "very sweet." (make my day!)  I was surprised she only found it "fair to middlin'" since I thought it was a really astonishingly beautiful picture for someone with tremors who hadn't used pastels since she was a child. It is the picture she is holding in the blog photo above.

Then the activity director tried to take the picture from J so she could pose us for a photo. J refused to part with it. She clenched it tightly, and nothing we said dampened her resolve. Neither of us could coax her to let go of it. I suspect she thought it was better than just "fair to middlin'." Fortunately, the other activity director had a frame available, and was able to talk J into letting go long enough to frame it.

As she clutched that picture, I knew she was clinging to something very dear to her. Perhaps it was the memory of what it used to be like as an artist, when she could draw anything without any struggle. I thought of her necklace. When one has dementia or Alzheimers, does one remember Jesus? Does one remember coming to faith? I would think the very worst thing to lose would be that.

Realistically, these people may forget God. But there is great comfort in remembering that God never forgets them. The Bible tells us our names are engraved on His hands,  indelibly recorded in the Book of Life. When we have made a commitment to God, our flesh and our body may fail, including our memory, but our name is carved in God Himself for all eternity. We may forget Him, but He will never forget us. What a blessed assurance!

"Had you ever used chalk pastels before?" asked the Activity Director.
"As a child," answered J.
"I guess it's like riding a bike. You never forget," I said.
J smiled at me, clutching the picture she had drawn, remembering.
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Isaiah 49:15-16
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.