Sadly my Dad passed away on 6th April after many years of being in a care home.  Whilst this did not come as too much of a shock, the timing and its consequences caused my 80 year old Mum more angst than perhaps under normal circumstances.

My brother, Grant, has been doing a great job of looking after my Mum over these past two years. She has several health issues, one of which is particularly serious, and he visits every day to ensure she has been taking her medication and eats properly.  However, when he contracted Coronavirus it meant my Mum was completely left to her own devices during this period of lockdown.  It became clear very quickly that she was a danger to herself and every phone call was the same, uncontrollably sobbing and sometimes borderline hysterical.  She had no idea what pills, or how many of each she had taken each day.  I rang her GP who agreed she needed urgent care and Social Services agreed.  However, they decided that this had to be arranged via my brother and not me, due to logistics, despite the fact he was hardly able to speak without coughing. I had no option but to back out but keep on praying and praising. Admittedly I ran out of words and Psalm 86 became my prayer, “Give me a sign of your goodness…” was the verse that made my heart pound. After almost a week of waiting, it transpired the GP was hindering a care package in his refusal to alter one of her drugs and Grant messaged to say that there was no hope of homecare for Mum after all.  There seemed no solution and as far as my brother was concerned the last week or so had been a complete waste of time.

Three days later I woke up feeling the urge to repent for my lack of trust in God in several areas of my life.  That morning as I was praying Psalm 86 the phone rang.  It was Social Services. I didn’t question why they had decided to communicate with me rather than Grant. We went through the details of my Mum’s case again and this lovely lady suggested I go back to my Mum’s GP and ask him one last time to change the one problematic drug on her long list of meds.  She could see no reason for him not to prescribe a substituteas in fact this is a common sense issue. So when I rang the Doctor, I am not sorry to say that the GP in question was unavailable for the next three days!  His colleague saw no reason why this drug could not be substituted and by mid-afternoon it was arranged for my Mum to have carers visiting twice a day to administer her meds and ensure she was eating properly.  My Mum does not know the Lord and thus far all my attempts to talk about Him have fallen on deaf ears.  I am so thankful to Father God for his mercy, not to mention his flawless timing.  My Mum and my brothers think we have been “lucky” but what I see is our way making, miracle working God.

“Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you Lord, have helped me and comforted me.”    Psalm 86:17.

Alexis Graham