I was sitting with one of my beautiful Hospice patients last week, providing the gift of \u2018presence\u2019 to a lonely Alzheimer\u2019s patient, when she looked at me and said with unusual clarity, \u201cYou are a God-Whisperer!\u201d\u00a0 I was so taken aback, as this is a lady who generally only speaks in \u2018word-scramble\u2019 and is usually what we term as \u2018aware of self only.\u2019\u00a0 But I immediately fell in love with the term \u2013 and I\u2019m claiming it!\u00a0 \u00a0What a gift this person gave to me ~ an acknowledgement that I truly do make a difference in my patient\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n
I have learned over time through my patients that the worst thing isn\u2019t being lonely ~ it is being<\/strong> forgotten<\/strong>!\u00a0 So many of my patients with Alzheimer\u2019s have been left on their own by their family, because family members often think that the patient doesn\u2019t know they are present anyway.\u00a0 But just like in the movie, \u201cThe Notebook,\u201d there are moments of clarify within patients with cognitive deficits – and those times are truly special for family as well as for the patient.\u00a0 A light glows from within the patient as a moment of clarity opens up for them, and when family is there, it is such a gift for everyone in the room.\u00a0 But Alzheimer\u2019s is a difficult disease to watch, and because of that, family often stop in to visit from time to time and may stay for only a few moments with their loved one. Such a loss for the patient \u2013 and the family members.<\/p>\n As I pondered the focus of the authors in the book, Who Needs Theology, <\/em>the answer to this question is, of course, everyone!\u00a0 If someone is a thinking person who reflects on life\u2019s ultimate questions and who is a Christian, they are doing theology.[1]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 The authors noted that if you seek to understand the meaning of faith for answering life\u2019s ultimate questions or simply answering basic questions about growing in relation to God, you are a Christian theologian. \u00a0The ancient Athenian philosopher Socrates held the motto that \u2018the unexamined life isn\u2019t worth living.\u2019[2]<\/a><\/p>\n Theology comes from two Greek words:\u00a0 theos<\/em>, which means God, and logos<\/em>, which means thought.\u00a0 So, theology means \u2018God thought<\/strong>.\u2019[3]<\/a> \u00a0 Yet, how do we know how God thinks?\u00a0 Well, obviously the Bible is our blueprint. \u00a0I also love sharing stories with my patients about God\u2019s love to help them understand whom they are in Christ.\u00a0 One story I often share is a story about when I was widowed when I was young \u2013 very unexpectedly and for which I was very unprepared.\u00a0 But this story has always been precious to me \u2013 and I\u2019ve shared it often with my patients as well as at their funerals.<\/p>\n When I was widowed with a young family, my life was very confused.\u00a0 One day, someone asked me which of my children was my favorite.\u00a0 I think they meant who was easiest or who helped the most, but that was not what they asked.\u00a0 The question was \u201cwho is your favorite?\u201d\u00a0 My response was a Holy Spirit impartation, I truly believe, because it was immediate, and I answered, \u201cwhoever needs me most right at that moment in time is my favorite!\u201d\u00a0 I share that story often with my patients, as I truly believe that when we are at our weakest, God is at His strongest.\u00a0 And so, I get to help hurting individuals know that – at that exact moment in time – they are God\u2019s favorite!<\/p>\n 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, \u201cAnd he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee:\u00a0 for my strength is made perfect in weakness.\u00a0 Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.\u201d<\/p>\n Theology is faith seeking understanding.[4]<\/a> \u00a0A final quote from author Jen Pastiloff, which clarifies what I strive for as a final title for my life on this earth: \u201cWhen I get to the end of my life and ask one final, \u2018What have I done?\u2019 ~ let my answer be: \u00a0I have done LOVE<\/strong>!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Stanley Grenz and Roger Olsen, Who Needs Theology: An Invitation to the Study of God <\/em>(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 24<\/p>\n