There are so many memories that flow through my mind as I look at this picture. One is the memory of Grandma Yoder who I came to know at the end of her life as I started dating my wife. The second is the ongoing memory of Grandpa Yoder and the example of selfless care that he lived and still lives to this day.
Grandma Yoder passed away nearly five years ago now after a decade of health challenges. There was many a time that we didn’t know how she was still alive, and after a time we chalked it up to a resilient will to live.
In the midst of that will to live were dialysis treatments, a plenitude of prescriptions, and a need for people to help her with everyday living.
I never knew Grandma Yoder as the joyous, caring, and persistent individual that my in-laws described her to be - my interactions with her only allowed me to see eyes that danced and a soul that longed for her eternal promise.
Alongside this beautiful soul in her final days was her faithful until death husband, Grandpa Yoder. He has never been a man of many words but the ones he does speak could be the summary of self-help books in print today.
Though I have only known him for 7 years now, Grandpa’s example of caring for his beloved is forever etched in my memory. Alongside that memory is the tireless work ethic of my mother-in-law and the 10 years of caregiving that she provided for her mother.
Rather than send Grandma Yoder to a nursing home, my family decided to care for her needs as a group and see that she lived her last days amongst us. Of course, they didn’t realize those last days would turn into 10 years but it was not the timeframe that determined the work, it was the principle of the family unit.
Age is Not a Burden
We have a dangerous mindset in our society where the youngest among us, and the oldest are only regarded as strains on the family - we see very little in the form of benefit to us and often only count the cost to our wallets.
Since when do we only value our loved ones by how heavy or light of a burden they are to us? Is not life, from the cradle to the coffin, to be of priceless worth to us?
Yes, caring for our parents and grandparents may cost us. How much did it cost them to care for us as we grew up?
The value of a human being is not determined by the output or lack there of of monetary worth. We are, because of the Imago Dei, inestimable beyond compare.
That truth, and not the work it takes to care for the broken and ailing among us is what ought to inform our activity. We tread a treacherous tightrope when we cast aside those who need our help simply because it is too much for us. How soon till we become no better than machines throwing away old parts because they move a little slower than we do?
Our lives should not be characterized by wilting at tough decisions or taking the road often traveled. Let our choices show that we embrace what is true, and that day in and day out we have no regrets for our actions.
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