The Widows and the Orphans

Carl Toth

Here's picture of Collins and my mom 11 months ago. Collins was meeting her grandmother for the first time. Unfortunately I just spent the past week helping my mom begin the difficult transition of moving into the "assisted living" phase of her life. She's been diagnosed with Alzheimers and has gone from being very independent to someone who is confused and helpless. She struggles with names and remembering things. All of a sudden, normal day to day choices are complex for her. For 5 days I saw her struggles and vulnerability firsthand. By the time I got home, I felt like I had been on a mission trip. I was wiped out emotionally, physically and spiritually by that experience because it was MY mom that was struggling. The trip gave me a renewed understanding of the entire scope of James 1:27. God says part of pure Christianity is taking care of 2 groups of people - the orphan and the widow. We understand the plight of the orphan because of Collins and our experiences with orphans overseas. But now I can understand why God says to take care of both of these groups. They're both alone. They're both vulnerable and broken. As a pastor for 25 years, I've seen so much....but this week changed me. I have a renewed passion for these two groups. They have alot in common, and they're not pleasant similarities. Experiencing their plight firsthand, it's easy to understand why they are especially close to God's heart and why He clearly lets us know that we are to take care of them.