I heard the word Thanksgiving. I saw my grandson, Robert, sitting in his wheelchair, trying to feed himself. He has advanced Huntington’s disease. Huntington’s disease is when your brain cells are destroyed, one cell at a time. The order in which cells are destroyed first differs in everyone who has Huntington's. The stage of Robert’s Advanced Huntington’s disease is now to the point where he has a very hard time getting his body to cooperate. When he tries to pick up his fork, it takes several shaky attempts, and then when he finally gets it, he drops it. He can’t always move his body parts when he needs to. He can’t get the words out when he wants something. At this stage, people with Huntington's begin to say an outburst word. I have been praying that this time would never come for Robert. But it did!
However, the outburst word Robert uses is not a bad word. The word is “thankyou.” This was an answer to my prayers. Then, the Lord reminded me that this was also the answer to another prayer. I was concerned about Robert’s mental state. Being trapped in an uncooperative body has to be hard. Then, the Lord reminded me of the Bible verse in Luke 6:45, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Thank you, Jesus!
What comes out of your mouth when things get tough?
“Remember, if you don’t understand, ask!”