Last year, I wrote Giving Thanks for Dementia, exploring the reasons I can still give thanks amidst my mother’s debilitating illness. Now, she’s moved in with us for the foreseeable future, and I find myself giving thanks even more!

Some have questioned our wisdom or ability to properly care for Grandma in our home. (Believe me, this choice was not made out of judgment over the choices you have made for your own loved ones. Just as I am not anti-school just because I homeschool, I am not anti-nursing home because we home-nurse.) But, this decision was not made without wrestling in prayer and reaching the firm conviction that, for now, this is the best choice for Grandma.

Kind-hearted people have warned me, “You know, you don’t have to do this.” Yes, I know. “Make sure you take care of yourself.” Right. Please help me do that! “You’ll know when this gets to be too much.” I sure hope that professionals, family, and friends will help me see that time. Yes, this is sacrifice. But, following obediently in God’s leading has brought me so much joy. Here’s why.

Now that Grandma lives with us, here’s the good that has come from this disease.

None of these reasons to give thanks discount the fact that at some point, Grandma may still need a nursing facility. Even at that time, God’s promises will still hold true. If and when that time comes, I am confident there will be reasons to give thanks, as well. (Can you say, “Giving Thanks for Dementia, Part 3”?)

 

Mrs. Marie K. MacPherson, vice president of Into Your Hands LLC, lives in Casper, Wyoming, with her husband Ryan and their children, whom she homeschools. She is a certified Classical Lutheran Educator (Consortium for Classical Lutheran Educators), author of Meditations on the Vocation of Motherhood (Old Testament vol., 2018; New Testament vol., 2023), and editor of Mothering Many: Sanity-Saving Strategies from Moms of Four or More (2016).