learning from the elderly

Every week in Relief Society, a sign up is passed around to go and visit a ward member who lives at a nearby Nursing Home facility. I always avoid signing up because I'm afraid that Luke will be crazy and make it impossible to sit and have a conversation. But this week I decided to be courageous and give it a shot.

This sister lives in a special unit of the nursing home that is reserved for patients who are beginning to suffer from dementia. As I walked in, I realized that most of the residents in that unit are pretty far gone. One lady was shouting out meaningless jabber while another woman was sitting with her wheelchair right by the door so she could try to escape as soon as I opened it. However, the sister I was visiting seems to have her faculties fully intact on the surface. She comes to church every Sunday so physically she is quite well for her age.

I went to her room and we began talking. Shortly after I sat down, she began to tell me about her childhood in Hawaii. She told me how her birth parents had given her away to her Uncle and Aunt because they could not have any more children. She considers it a great blessing because her Uncle and Aunt were members of the church and were able to raise her in the gospel. She quickly went into her conversion story. As she spoke, I often felt like someone was pressing the rewind button and replaying parts of our conversation over and over again. She would repeat sentences verbatim that she had already said only minutes earlier. I know her conversion story well, because nearly every testimony meeting in Relief Society, she stands up and tells it to us. She always describes it the exact same way, and she repeats it over and over again until someone stands up, thanks her, and helps her sit down.

I had an overwhelming feeling today, as I listened to her tell this story that I already almost have committed to memory. It means so much to her...like it is her most valuable possession. She bore her testimony to me with so much emotion that it nearly made me cry. As I tried to talk to her about other subjects, I realized that she didn't remember much else. She couldn't remember how she ended up in Ohio or what the name of her second husband was, or even how long she was married to the third one (although she did mention that she struck out with all three...and kinda chuckled). The only thing that she has a clear memory of is her testimony of the gospel. As one of the healthiest patients in this unit, I think she realizes that her memory is leaving her and so she repeats her conversion story over and over again to anyone who will listen... just so she won't ever forget it.

So in honor of my friend, and so it will never be forgotten, I will share with you the scripture that enlightened her understanding and solidified her testimony:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths."
Proverbs 3:5

p.s. Luke was a perfect gentleman!