I found a receipt. My grandmother hasn’t known me in years. Yet, on this tiny piece of paper was evidence that she knew me long before she forgot me. Each line told a story. Maternity wear. Baby toys. Baby Outfits. The receipt was dated many months before I was born. My grandmother longed to be a part of my life very. She longed to help care for me. In the womb, my grandmother knew me.
The years were filled with love and nurture. My grandmother didn’t miss anything. Baseball. Plays. Birthdays. Graduation. She even picked me up from school for years. It is an understatement to say that she was a part of my life. Now, she is gone. Maybe?
Some time ago, my grandmother stopped talking gibberish for a second. It was as if the clouds lifted for just a second. Looking into my eyes, she said, “Do you love me?” My soul immediately traveled to the words of Jesus. I said, “Yes.” Yes didn’t feel like enough. Then I thought about the receipt. Before my grandmother knew me in the womb, she loved me. He love now seemed to be a calling to the great beyond? God seemed to be speaking to me. Love was breaking through. The love in the receipt was still there.
Though she has advanced Alzheimer’s, she seems to be drawing closer and closer to God. Maybe in the lunacy of it all is God. Surely, the brain is included in the call to give our all to God. Maybe Alzheimer’s patients are bringing God to us. “Do you love me?”
Tonight, I watched “I’ll Be Me.” The documentary is about country music legend, Glen Campbell. I have always loved his music. Over and over again, I have danced around my house singing about a rhinestone cowboy. Sadly, Campbell recently passed away. The film documents Campbell’s struggle with Alzheimer’s and his last tour. In every scene, I watched a man slowly return to God. Memories gave way to being…more specifically, being in God. Beauty filled every seen.
Perhaps.
The end of memory is the beginning of something more…namely, life.
The receipt hasn’t answered everything.
Yet.
Is it real?
Amen.
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