The Caregiver

It takes a special person to be a caregiver.
Such dedication…such patience.
Often a thankless job.
A “fade in the background” position…except for the person in your charge.

I saw him in the men’s department.
His mind much younger than his body.
He was happy and talkative…though talking to no one in particular.

His caregiver was with him.
Tiny in frame, but big in compassion.
They were obviously shopping for summer clothes for this man.

Shall we try on some shorts? the caregiver kindly asked.
All of these? he asked confused pointing to the racks of shorts.
No, just a few. You get to pick.
NOT HERE! NOT RIGHT HERE! he said with great resolve.
No…No…not here, she tried to explain…In the little room.
Not here…I can’t get dressed here. In the little room…in the little room…in the…
His voice trailed off, repeating that last phrase as they walked away.

I wondered if they found what they were looking for…if he finally began to understand.
She treated the man with such kindness, such respect, such dignity.

Someone else may have gotten annoyed, frustrated, maybe even unkind.
Not her!
She treated the man with such compassion.
She had no idea someone witnessed their exchange.

I wondered if I would have been as kind.

 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.’“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.’“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?’“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ (Matthew 25:31-45)

The least of these.
Special needs.
Special circumstances.

Feeding them is feeding Jesus.
Clothing them is clothing Jesus.
Visiting them is visiting Jesus.

Clear directives…yet so hard to carry out.
Why the confusion?

The woman today did not know that I saw her…but I did.
Even if I had not seen her…Jesus did.
His eyes are the only ones that matter.

We would all be on our best behavior for the King.
We would muster up all sorts of compassion and patience.

That’s the point.
The King is here!
He is alive in His people.

Our best behavior should be towards everyone.
Our compassion should be evident to all.
Whether anyone is watching…or not.

Jesus IS watching and delights when we love and serve others.
It is the least we can do for our Lord and King.

We are just like that man.
We each have special needs and special circumstances.
We serve Him best when we serve each other.

Giving care…in His name.
Whether anyone see us or not!