March 27th

March 27th

Read: Rom. 13:8-10; Psa. 55:22; Matt. 11:30; Gal. 6:2

When my Dad first was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and the first signs of disability were appearing, Mother determined to “see the job through.” She saw the extra burdens of laundry because of spilled food or having extra hooks on outside doors so that Daddy wouldn’t “escape” as duties to be accomplished or borne because she was his wife. She was “sticking by her man”. The problem was that her fussing to keep things as they had always been, to preserve the illusion that all was well was very stressful to them both.

Once she truly understood that she could not retrain Daddy to eat without spills, she began to let go, and her love for him kicked in. She began to set the table without a cloth or mats, and they both found mealtimes much more pleasant and satisfying. Duty became secondary to love, and they both responded so that their relationship remained sweet even when Daddy could no longer communicate by speech!

THE FULFILMENT
Duty is a prison,
A strong, unyielding jail,
Where human hearts are restless
And souls their bonds bewail;
But love unlocks the prison
With its own golden key;
Its grace removes the bondage
And sets the restless free.

Duty is a burden
To bear and oft we fail
To bear it to completion,
For human hearts are frail;
But love relieves the burden
Of duty’s agony;
Its strength and understanding
Builds up our empathy.

Duty is a limit
Past which we will not sail,
A counterweight we would employ
To balance out the scale;
But love doth set no limit,
No finite boundary;
It opens us to service
Beyond infinity.

Prayer: Dear God, I thank You that love is truly the fulfilment of Your law. Help me in times when duty sets limits to extend myself to love more deeply.