Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27

Ive been thinking alot about this verse this week.  On Sunday night I got a call from my mother in Memphis that my grandmother (memaw) was in the hospital and it didn’t look good.  My memaw has Parkinsons and Neuropathy which causes her a great deal of pain.  She doesn’t eat and she is too weak to stand.  Its a terribly sad situation for my grandmother and my entire family.

While I am visiting my memaw in the hospital all that seems to run through my mind is this verse from James 1:27 about true religion, “visit orphans and widows in their affliction.”

Caring for someone in the last stages of life is incredibly difficult. We saw this when my father-in-law passed away in 2007.  Unless you are a doctor, nurse or otherwise trained medical professional I believe that its such a bizarre thing to be taking care of the minimum basic needs of an adult human being who has lost the ability to care for themselves.  Its an even more bizarre situation to care for a parent, or a grandparent; someone who fed you and cleaned up after you and wiped your butt as a baby now needs YOU, all grown up, to do these things for them in their elderly or weakened state.  I really do not understand how anyone can do this, day in and day out, without a light at the end of the tunnel, and NOT have true religion.  I know for my family, the power of Jesus is helping them during this time.  And the prayers of God’s people are also helping in a huge way.

I just dont see how anyone can do the hard parts of life without Jesus.