This morning I woke thinking of the Sunday after my mother's death. After my parents moved to Odessa, TX, Dad started attending a small Southern Baptist Church in his neighborhood. Even when Alzheimer's was really taking a toll on my mother, on Sundays he would get her up and prepare both her and the house so that he felt he could leave her alone for an hour or so. He would then put on his by then slightly too large suit and tie, and after asking God to make certain that nothing would happen while he was gone, off he would go.
On the Sunday after her passing, he asked if I would go with him. The pastor was ill at the time, so one of the deacons was preaching. Dad was greeted with much warmth by the deacon and the rest of the congregation. We took our places towards the front of the sanctuary and settled in. However, much to my annoyance, the deacon proceeded to talk about hell and how even when we get to heaven our loved ones might not be there because of their errant ways. The more I listened, the more aggravated I became. I decided I would talk to the deacon after the service (talk may be a generous term; I really wanted to express my opinion that his sermon was insensitive and it did not take into account that Dad was a very recent widower). However, after the service, I could not even get close to the deacon. Although it was a very small congregation, it was as if he was surrounded by throngs of people. Dad asked if we could go home. I knew then I just had to let it go.
On the way home, I asked Dad what he thought of the sermon. He responded, "What?" This surprised me. His new hearing aids were proving to work well in the close quarters of the car. I paused, and realized that Dad had been quiet all morning. I then asked more loudly, "Did you put in your hearing aids this morning?"
He smiled, and said no, he seemed to have forgotten them.
"Did you hear the message?"
He smiled again, and confessed that no, he really had not heard much. I had to laugh. Seemed that neither God nor my father needed my righteous indignation.
Blessings on your Lenten journey. If every day we strive to be able to answer yes to the questions below, our fasts will be rich indeed.
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