The Nursing Home....

As I grew up, I never thought that much about the nursing home.  I mean, Mr. Hudson would take us there in high school to sing around Christmas and I would occasionally go to see my great grandparents, but for the most part, I didn't understand what or why they were in place.  All I knew was the smell was weird and some of the people acted like they didn't know who they were or seem to care.

Now, I see them very differently.  I have been in them more than normal lately.  My grandmother and my aunt are both in an assisted living centers in town right now.  Their eyes seem to light up when I walk in the door of their rooms.  It's like they are just sitting there waiting on someone to show up.  I have been thinking about them a lot with the holidays around the corner.  Things aren't like they were just a few years ago.  We no longer go to Ma Ma's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  My aunt isn't able to get around and come to lunch.  She can't even walk anymore.  

Walking down the halls of the center is just so real of what happens to us as we age.  I recognize some of the faces that once were leaders in this town.  I recognize the wives and husbands of family who can no longer take care of them.  You know you try not to look in on people in their rooms, but it is almost impossible to do so.  You look in and wonder who they are and what they did before they entered into the nursing home.  

I feel bad and I have to admit I don't go as often as I should to visit.  It is almost like once you know your family member is taken care of and you trust the level of the care, you can take a break and let them settle in.  Then it becomes easier and easier to forget to stop by and easier to have other things to do.  

As I left my aunts room just the other day, I got in my truck and drove away and these thoughts went through my head.  A few days later, I left my grandmother sitting with her groceries we had bought and her new radio.  These thoughts went through my head again.  On the way home, I honestly felt bad for not putting more effort into taking care of my aunt and grandmother, even if it was only a few minutes a few times a week.  

This morning as I sat in Sunday school, these thoughts came back to me.  We were discussing how each of us spend time with God.  We talked about the actual way we talked to God on a daily basis.  Did we journal or did we pray or did we just study and meditate?  There are several ways you can talk to God, you just have to figure out how you will do it.  

Then God began to speak to me.  

I remembered the nursing home.  That is the way I treat God sometimes.  I have put him in a safe place in my heart.  I have made sure he has the best care possible.  When I want to visit with Him, I know where He is.  I know which room He is in.  I can go and get Him and take Him to church.  I can go get Him and take Him to the store or work with me.  

How many of us are at the same point?  

It takes preparation to spend time with God.  It takes effort to spend time with God.  It takes desire to spend time with God.  It takes nerve to spend time with God.  It takes a willingness to spend time with God.

Being a Christian is not about a set of rules we have to follow, it is about spending time getting to know God and sharing Him with others.

1 John 1:5

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

I know all of us are guilty of putting God in a special place and visiting Him when we need Him.  

If you want to know where your heart is, look at your pocket book and your appointment book.

Are you guilty of putting God in the nursing home and go see him when you need too?

We need to spend time with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

How do you spend time with Him????????