CLEVELAND, OHIO – I received the following email from John:
“My six children are crazy about the Guardians. On October 12, 2007, just as we were all excited about the Indians-Red Sox playoff game, I received news that my wife had died at the Jennings Adult Center in Garfield Heights. I don’t remember who won the game that night, but I do remember all the events that happened over the next 24 hours.”
John is a retired police officer. Over the years, he has written me about dealing with his wife’s Alzheimer’s disease and the impact it has had on his family.
“Not only have I experienced Alzheimer’s with my wife, but I have also participated in Alzheimer’s support groups,” he wrote. “My family and I still fundraise today. One of the things that saddens me most is that after decades and hundreds of millions of dollars spent trying to find a cause and a cure, we still are no closer to a solution.
“The people who work on this every day have hope that there will be a ‘magic’ experimental drug on the market, only to find out a few months later that it doesn’t work and they have to start again. This is a very painful experience for families and I would never wish this on anyone.”
I remember going through a similar experience after my father had his stroke: shocked, overwhelmed, then helpless. There were periods of hope, but they never seemed to last.
Be strong and courageous
One of my favorite parts of the Bible is the first chapter of the Book of Joshua in the Old Testament. This chapter begins with God informing Joshua that Moses, the great leader, had died. Moses had been like a father to Joshua. Now Joshua was being asked to take Moses’ place and lead the Jewish people into the Promised Land.
God tells Joshua to “be strong and of a good courage,” those very words appear three times in four verses.
Anyone who lives in what I call “stroke land, cancer land, Alzheimer’s land,” or any other health crisis, knows the need to be “strong and brave.” This goes for those who are suffering and those close to them.
“When I was 18, my best friend drowned,” said Father Bob Steck of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Brunswick. “I kept picturing him drowning and thinking, ‘If only I’d been there, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.'”
Our minds continue to play cruel games. When my father had his stroke, I doubted myself about his health care etc.
After his wife passed away, John said his family told him, “If she hadn’t been put in that place (the memory care unit), she would still be alive.”
A crisis can bring out the worst in some people.
Father Bob Steck is pastor of St. Ambrose Church in Brunswick.
What God Really Said
The third time God tells Joshua, “Be strong and of a good courage,” the rest of the verse reads, “Do not be afraid or dismayed, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Let’s take a closer look:
1. Change happens. Moses died. Anything can happen in our lives, from health problems to job loss to divorce.
2. It’s accompanied by fear. Even when change seems “good,” it usually comes with anxiety.
3. Fear can turn into discouragement, because the cliché “things are likely to get worse before they get better” is often true. John mentioned this when talking about false hope about a new medicine for a terrible disease.
“We live in times of uncertainty and change,” said the Rev. Napoleon Harris V., senior pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland.
Harris said everything from politics to the economy is making people anxious, and many are also facing personal health and family issues.
Antioch Baptist Church pastor Napoleon Harris attended Benedictine High School. Photo by Terry Pluto/Cleveland.com
Big changes, big fears
Harris grew up in Cleveland and graduated from Benedict Inn High School, where he played football, before going on to Tennessee State University, eventually earning a doctorate in educational leadership.
Two years ago, he served as pastor at the First Baptist Church of South Englewood in Nashville, and also served as associate dean of student affairs at Tennessee State University.
He loved both jobs, but then he was called back to his hometown of Cleveland to replace the retiring legendary pastor and preacher, Dr. Marvin McMickle, who is now interim pastor at the First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland.
“He’s like a Moses to a lot of people,” Harris said. “He even wrote a book called, ‘Where Are the Prophets Go?’ He’s an incredible guy.”
Harris had “two dream jobs” in Nashville — at the church and at his alma mater — but here was a chance to return to his hometown of Cleveland and work at a prestigious church like Antioch. Would he be compared to McMickle? Could he match it?
“I came back to Cleveland just as we were coming out of the pandemic,” he said. “It was a very depressing time, like a science fiction movie. The first sermon I preached (in Cleveland) was Joshua chapter 1,” he said. “Stay strong, stay courageous… I had to remind myself of that.”
We live in a changing and unstable world where darkness seems to reign. We must look for the light. Photo: Terry Pluto/Cleveland.com
I need light
“Look at the end of that verse (Joshua 1:9),” Steck said, “and that’s where the power comes from. That’s why we made that verse our church theme this year.”
That verse says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; do not be afraid or be discouraged; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Steck said he finds himself praying, “Jesus, I trust in you,” a prayer he says he sometimes prays multiple times when fear or discouragement hits him.
“I remember when I was little, sometimes I’d be scared in my room at night,” Harris said, “and I’d tell myself that my parents were in the next room. They were still there, but I couldn’t see them.”
Steck asked us to think about the words “discouragement” and “courage.” Discouragement tries to sap our courage. We start to think that the challenge will never end. If things were to change, they would be for the worse.
Steck emphasized that we all need to look at our lives and know that God has been there, even when things haven’t gone the way we wanted them to.
For example, John used the pain his wife experienced from Alzheimer’s disease to help others experiencing the same pain.
“Sometimes God is like a light in the night,” Harris said. “It can feel like you’re surrounded by darkness and doubt, but I like to have a light in the night, a little light in the darkness. That’s how God has helped me.”
