John 14:1-7 holds a very special place in my heart. Whenever I hear it, or whenever I read it, the words bring feelings that are near and dear, a reminiscence that now only lives as a thought and memory in my heart and mind. When I was 14-15 years old, my Great Grandmother came to live with us as her sight and memory started to decline. It was a short but sweet time that I will never forget. As the weeks and months went on, there came a time of day, about four in the afternoon, that she would hit a cognitive wall each day. My family decided to call this time of day, “sour-hour”. Once sour-hour hit, things would go from normal to bad quite quickly. She would start getting upset and angry as if you were someone or in a situation from the past. We learned that the only way to respond was with patience, understanding, and helping her calm back down. The best medicine for sour-hour turned out to be a small glass of red wine, sitting her down on the couch, and putting on the Game Show Network. That year went by quickly as she reached a point where she was better cared for by a full-time staff. In that final year, and the last months of her life, her memory, cognitive abilities, and sight had drastically declined, making every visit a unique visit. On those visits she would greet me with conversations and questions as if I were one of her sons, asking about my days in the military (I was only 16 and had never served in the military), so the responses were simply letting her talk and responding when she asked. However, there was one area that she was sharp with until her last day. She may not have known what day it was, month it was, year it was, where she was, or who she was talking with, but she knew with certainty where she was going… She always had the same answer for these few questions: “What’d you learn in church this week?” “What’d you read in your Bible today?” “What’s your favorite Bible verse?” The answer she gave is one I’ll never forget. It was an answer that gave hope to the world around her, an answer that brought comfort, an answer that calmed fears and anxieties, an answer given with such precision you wouldn’t know it came from someone struggling to remember. She lived with eternity in mind. Here was her response:
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”
The words of John 14:1-7 (In the KJV today, since that’s how she memorized it), are words that speak comfort to a troubled soul, provide peace to the restless warrior, give calm to an anxious wanderer, and affirm hope to an eager saint. For what satisfied the longings of my Great Grandmother in her final years of life, were words written on her heart a lifetime before. I hope that someday when my body gives way and my memory fades, the echo of my life would be rooted in the life-giving words of Jesus. That in moments of darkness, frailty, or worry, I worry no more because by heart is overtaken by the truths of scripture. Today may seem daunting, but we have hope beyond today. We have hope in Jesus, the only way, the only truth, and the only life. Therefore, the more we savor the truths that our savior brings, the closer we hold them to our hearts, the less we’ll be troubled when trouble comes.
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”
The words of John 14:1-7 (In the KJV today, since that’s how she memorized it), are words that speak comfort to a troubled soul, provide peace to the restless warrior, give calm to an anxious wanderer, and affirm hope to an eager saint. For what satisfied the longings of my Great Grandmother in her final years of life, were words written on her heart a lifetime before. I hope that someday when my body gives way and my memory fades, the echo of my life would be rooted in the life-giving words of Jesus. That in moments of darkness, frailty, or worry, I worry no more because by heart is overtaken by the truths of scripture. Today may seem daunting, but we have hope beyond today. We have hope in Jesus, the only way, the only truth, and the only life. Therefore, the more we savor the truths that our savior brings, the closer we hold them to our hearts, the less we’ll be troubled when trouble comes.