Unconditional Love

For a long time, I thought that unconditional love was not humanly attainable.

It's probably not fair to say that a childhood pet, 'Princess' , (a dog of course), came the closest.

But I had an experience on Sunday that stops me in my tracks. I visit a nursing home twice a month, and lead a church service. While the nursing home advertises it as the 'Interfaith service', in reality it is a non-denominational Christian service. We welcome people of all faiths, but we talk about Jesus.

Anyway, there is one old gentleman who often wheels his wife in. He is a visitor, not a resident. He is Jewish, and comes to the Christian service because he will go anywhere, and do anything, if it might help his wife. She is in the latter stages of Alzheimer's, and is now totally unresponsive. She doesn't talk. She doesn't even open her eyes. She sits in a semi reclining position, and drools, and he tenderly wipes her mouth. He always lets me pray for her.

Last Sunday, he wheeled her out before we finished praying for everyone, and as I was leaving the building I noticed him sitting with her in the lobby. I approached him, set my guitar down, and asked if I could pray for him. He said,
"What I really want is for you to pray for my wife. " He gently turned her wheelchair so I could reach her to touch her as I prayed. I prayed for comfort. I prayed that the Lord would intervene, and reach past the mind into the place where she now lives, and reveal himself and his truth to her. I prayed that He would reveal to her what it means to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
He thanked me, with tears in his eyes, and told me that she has been here for 6 years, and he has visited every day. I told him that he is an example to us all. I looked at this quiet, unassuming old Jewish man, and realized that I was seeing unconditional love in action.

And he reached out to me, and pulled me close, and gave me a holy kiss.

Pray for them!