Brook Besor

Yesterday I spoke to residents of an aged care facility in Napier, New Zealand, in a Bible study. I spoke about David and his pursuit of the Amalekites who had decimated his resident town of Ziklag. (1 Samuel Chapter 30 Verses 1 to 25 with the emphasis on verses 23 to 25.) While there are numerous lessons to be taken from this incident, the one I concentrated upon was the need for the camp to be guarded. The residents of the home are clearly not able to physically be at the forefront of the battle but they can stay behind at the camp and guard it. The camp is Christianity. They can guard it with prayer and there is nothing the powers of darkness fear more than prayer. As David states; Those who guard the camp are as important as those who go physically into battle. (Paraphrased.)

Sitting In The Back Seat

     Most Sundays I provide a lift to Church for an aged lady. This lady, in her 80's, sits with another elderly lady - both of them in the back pew of the Church. Recently these two have 'fallen out' over some small matters. A touch of Alzheimers has not helped. It now falls to me to sit between them and maintain the peace. This is a job I am willing to undertake as it allows what has been a caring friendship between the two of them to continue, albeit in a slightly different form.
     Unfortunately the lady I provide the lift for is partially blind and hard of hearing. She also has problems staying awake during the service. As a result she spends most of the service asleep in my lap stirring only when I stand for the hymns.
     What a lovely lady she really is though, once you get to know her. Her life has been very difficult and she now finds herself in a foreign land and in a nursing home with others she has nothing in common with and a family she believes has abandoned her. Thank God that her beliefs give her a family.