All We Have Left

 I minister at a local memory-care facility where the residents are in varying degrees of dementia. None can safely live alone.

Paula attends my church services each week. I mention her specifically because of what she asks me each week. Before I play an old hymn on my Bluetooth speaker system, I start our service with prayer, and then read a short verse or two of Scripture that will form the basis for my brief words of encouragement or exhortation.

It is after I read the text from the Bible that Paula always interrupts me with the question: “Where is that in the Bible?”

Oh! I love it when she asks that question. It tells me she was raised in a church that urged the congregation to not only read the Bible, but to also study them. Her weekly question demonstrates that even in her slowly fading memories, her earlier training to verify with Scripture what she was being told still remains active and alert.

But – what about you? What is your relationship with the Scriptures? Do you read and study God's words to you? Do you memorize portions of His love letters to you?

Only God knows our futures, but the time might come for any of us when our memories fade nearly into oblivion. And if you are ever in such a situation as a memory-care facility – wouldn’t you want to be like Paula, still seeking to know, “Where that is in the Bible”?

Please. Do not neglect the daily reading and studying and memorizing God's word. There might come a time when God's word in your heart is all you have left to cling to.