My dad suffered a brain injury a couple of years back. And now, for the first time, one of his healthcare workers has used the term that’s caused dread and hopelessness in so many families… dementia.

It seems like only a few years ago (it’s actually been almost 10) that Dad announced that he had given his life to Jesus. And sure enough, I began hearing from my mom that dad was praying for our kids, he never missed church, and for the first time in my life, he would pray over meals when we visited. What was missing was the quick temper that I was accustomed to, and the expletives we were all used to hearing from dad.

My relationship with my dad improved, too! Since my teen years, my relationship with dad had been tense- now we were both believers, and God was bringing us closer. And then he fell and hit his head. He lost his vision. And something more.

Please understand, dad is still my dad. Sometimes he makes jokes with the dry humor he’s always been known for. But he’s often withdrawn, and doesn’t seem able to engage no matter how we try. Sometimes, when he speaks, none of us seem able to make sense of it. And I'm left wondering, “What happens to faith, when our identity becomes muddled?”

I don’t have the answer, but I know that being ‘born again’ of God’s Spirit isn’t something frailty and illness can undo . We’ve always been ‘not good enough’. In dementia, expressions of trust in Christ might be a simple ‘Amen’, a quiet humming of ‘Jesus loves me this I know’; or a momentary smile.  I’ve seen that slight smile from dad, and wonder if he’s expressing an acknowledgement of Jesus…?

Think about it, Grace is not about our talents and thinking capacities making us good enough; it has always been about God’s undeserved gift of mercy and love (Ephesians 2:5). And God makes us a promise; that He will ALWAYS be with us. Always. Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38–39). “Neither life nor death… nor anything else in creation…”

Including dementia.

Thank you, God, for Your Faithfulness.