Every day I work with people who are struggling with dementia. Whether it is an issue of their own, or one for someone they love, it’s an extremely challenging thing to face. As the mind begins to deteriorate, the spirit is constantly trying to cope. It is just as hard on the person inside the body facing dementia as it is for those who love them and are having to watch their loved one slowly drift away from them.

I watch people who have been very independent, successful members of society lose their independence. Their driving privileges are removed and they become fully dependent on other people to help them get what they need. They can no longer run down the road to the store if they run out of milk. They must wait until someone else can either take them or go for them.

As you can imagine, there is anger and frustration, and quite often there is some bitterness at their quickly dissolving freedoms. In many ways, their husbands, wives, children, and other people in their lives deal with their own fears and frustrations. They, too, lose a certain amount of freedoms in order to care for their disappearing loved one. They are forced to endure a grieving process separate and away from the one that will come when that person leaves this world. Essentially, they must lose them twice.

As difficult as it will be, we must continue to keep our eyes on God and the life that awaits us beyond this one. There aren’t enough words to describe how hard it is for us, as human beings, to endure this type of dual loss. But even in the face of such an ordeal, God can be found. He is in the hearts and hands of the people who help pick up those needed items from the store. He is in the cool breeze and sunshine of a spring day. He is inside each and every one of us, always giving us what we need to keep moving forward. We are all here to be His emissaries for those in need. But we can’t do what is needed if we’re not able to set ourselves aside and put forth the effort to act on His gentle nudges.

“I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another.” JOHN‬ ‭13:34‬ ‭AMP‬‬