He's Still Got A Song

On Sunday my family sang at a church in our area for their homecoming service. It was a really great service. My brother even surprised us and came up to sing with us because we sang at the church of one of my mom's best friends, and my mom really wished he could be there. So we were really blessed when he showed up.
I also got another blessing while I was there. We sang a few songs in an afternoon service for the people who had to work in the kitchen and miss the morning service. One man that stayed for the afternoon service really blessed me.
See, this man has alzheimers. And his physical and mental abilities are obviously diminishing. He couldn't walk far distances without his wife leading him. He couldn't carry on very much conversation. This fifty-something man was pretty much reduced to the level of a toddler.
But when we sang his face lit up like a Christmas tree. No, not because we're the best singers in the world or anything. But because we were singing the songs of God. The songs that were hidden deep in the recesses of his mind. Recognition spread across his face. And he began to sing along with us. Not the quiet reserved type of singing along that most do. He sang along with his full heart, and for the most part he was right on pitch, not that it mattered. If every note had been off key, I would have still been blessed just by seeing the look on his face. It was a look of sheer joy. And when we finished singing he looked disappointed, like he wished we could have gone on all day.
I don't understand alzheimers, and it always saddens me to see how a person can go downhill so far. But on Sunday I was reminded that if a person truly knows God, even when their memory fades, God is still in their heart. And He can still give them a song to sing in their darkest hour.
I'll leave you today with this verse from Psalm 77:6, "I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search."