A Tribute to a Father-in-Law

Today we bring you a story that was originally a Facebook post written by the sister-in-law of one of our chums about her father-in-law who is struggling with early onset Alzheimers.  Though we don’t usually use other people’s personal FB posts on Two Chums, it seemed particularly appropriate with Father’s Day just around the corner.  What a beautiful message for all of us that no matter our age or physical or mental condition, while our heart still beats, we have value and worth and can make a difference in someone else’s life.Mr. Kim is a lovely Korean man who served God as a pastor and missionary in Japan for many, many years.  Now he lives with his son and daughter-in-law.  This is a sweet piece about him written by that daughter-in-law:

“As some of you may now, my father-in-law has early onset Alzheimer/Dementia. As with the condition he frequently gets lost, repeats the same thing over and over again and forgets things he’s done. More recently, he’s been getting lost on a daily basis and we’ve even had police come and drop him off at our place. Sometimes he gets home and we know it’s usually the act of a good Samaritan showing him the way back to our house.

Yesterday, a woman, her mother and 2 kids stopped by our house asking if Mr. Kim got home ok. She told me not to let him know that she stopped by because he specifically told her that he didn’t want us, or the police, to know that he got lost again (the day before he got lost for 8 hours and returned home past 11pm).

Upon further conversation the woman told me that my father-in-law saved her. At first I thought maybe he saved her from being run over by a car. But then the woman burst into tears and told me that just 8 days ago her father passed away as a result of his own Alzheimer’s condition. Unfortunately, his body was not found until 4 days later and she never got to say good-bye. She was depressed and sad for days – even her children were depressed from the loss of their grandfather. She felt that meeting and helping him (Mr. Kim) find his way home was her way of helping her own father and saying good-bye to him.   She said she never felt such joy and peace in her life. Her children too felt the same way. I could see in her eyes and tears how much this moment meant to her.

I’m sharing this story as a reminder to you all that God is very much present in our lives today and he can use ANYBODY – even those who are ill, disabled, poor, rich, etc. to touch the lives of others. It’s no surprise to me that he used my father-in-law (a former pastor) to help this woman out because he’s already helped so many people in his lifetime and I strongly believe that God keeps a good watch over this man everyday – making sure he meets the right people on his trips out. I am humbled by this man and will never ever get annoyed or worried if he comes back late because I am confident that God is using him and watching over him.

The picture attached (above) is a picture of my father-in-law showing pictures of his past to his son on the same day the woman came to thank us. How appropriate that this happens right before Father’s Day. Don’t forget to wish your fathers a Happy Father’s Day this year – because each of them are so wonderful in their own way.”

Today’s Two Chums post was originally scheduled to be about “Gifts for Dads”.  Somehow it seemed to us that perhaps the very best gift any father can receive is the respect and appreciation of his children and grandchildren.  When we love our fathers and grandfathers enough to honor them in this way, we truly build for ourselves and our children lives filled with love, joy and overflowing with abundance!