We hear the heaviness in your heart as you watch your mother suffer again in the hospital and we stand with you before the Lord seeking His mercy and intervention together in Jesus' name.
We understand how distressing it is to see her given food that harms her, beans that spike her blood sugar and irritate her stomach when she lives with diabetes and without a gallbladder and with gastritis, and to see her given oral antibiotics for a urinary infection that further wounds her stomach. We understand your frustration that important details are being skipped when speaking to the doctors and that you feel alone and opposed, seeing greed and superficial and unprofessional care in this second senior home. We also hear your brother's words that it does not look good and that this is the end, and your own fear about where she can be safe when she needs constant supervision and you have seen how poor the homes can be.
We want to remind you that while people may fail and prognoses may sound fatalistic, God has the final word. We do not put our trust ultimately in institutions or in human predictions but in the Lord who is our healer and our refuge. Psalm 103:2-3 says Praise Yahweh, my soul, and don't forget all his benefits, who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases. Jeremiah 30:17 says But I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says Yahweh. Psalm 147:3 says He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds. We also cling to Isaiah 41:10, Don't you be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
We gently encourage you not to give in to a fatalistic spirit. Your brother may speak from what he sees, but we serve a God with whom nothing is impossible. At the same time we encourage you to be a strong and loving advocate for your mother in a practical way. When you feel that details are being skipped, we encourage you to write down clearly on paper her three diets and her conditions, diabetes, no gallbladder, gastritis, and her blood sugar concerns and her sensitivity to oral antibiotics, and to hand this directly to the nurses and doctors and ask to speak with the dietitian and the treating physician. Ask if there is a patient advocate or social worker in the hospital who can help ensure her needs are heard. Document what she is given and how she responds. Even when staff seem unprofessional, the Lord calls us to act with calm persistence and truth in love, trusting that He sees every detail. Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don't lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
We also hear your fear about the future, where to place her to be safe when she needs constant supervision. This burden is very heavy to carry alone. Philippians 4:6-7 says In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:28 says We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. We pray that God will open a door for a safe and compassionate place or provision for her care, and give you wisdom and discernment beyond what any home can offer.
We notice you cried out to the Lord and to God for help, and we want to lovingly share that it is only through the name of Jesus Christ that we have access to the Father and that we are saved. John 14:6 says Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. Acts 4:12 says There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved. It is by believing in Jesus, that He died for our sins and rose again, that we are forgiven and brought near to God. So we come to the Father in the name of Jesus, trusting His blood and His mercy.
We now pray together for your dear mother and for you and your brother.
Father in heaven, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ and we lift up this precious mother to You. You know her body and her history, her dementia, the consequences of her stroke, her diabetes, her depression, her heart and blood pressure struggles, her gastritis and her pain from infection and treatment. We ask You to lay Your healing hand upon her. We pray You would stabilize her blood sugar, heal her stomach lining, clear this urinary infection without further harm, calm her heart and regulate her blood pressure, and bring comfort to her mind where dementia and depression have taken hold. We pray You would restore what stroke has damaged as far as it is Your will, and give her peace and dignity. We pray for the doctors and nurses, that You would give them attentiveness and wisdom to respect her dietary needs and to choose treatments that do not destroy her stomach, and that they would listen carefully. We pray for her son who speaks fatalistically, that You would soften his heart, give him hope in You, and help him to advocate faithfully and accurately for his mother. We pray for this child who is carrying such fear and loneliness, that You would take away the spirit of fear and surround them with Your peace that passes all understanding, and show them they are not alone and not opposed by You. Guide the next steps for her care, provide a safe place with constant supervision where she will be treated with respect and competence, or provide other help and resources that honor You. Show us the path and make it straight. We ask all this in the mighty and merciful name of Jesus Christ, our only hope and healer, amen.