"When you look up the definition of caregiver, my husband's picture should be there," says Desra Lindemann, wife of Cliff. Desra was diagnosed with MS 26 years ago and at the age of 26. At the time, they had two young children, ages three and seven. Cliff held her in his arms all night as she cried the day she heard the news. Now after 33 years of marriage she is still being held. Cliff has worked at Contintental Tire in Mt. Vernon, Illinois for 31 years and has turned down numerous promotions so he would be available to help Desra pursue her dream of becoming a cheerleading coach, which she accomplished. Through the years, Cliff has always made sure that Desra made it to every practice and every game. His faily routine has been to get her out of bed in the morning, bathe her, shave her legs, fix her hair, take her to the bathroom, dress her, feed her--then kiss her.
After arriving home from a 10-hour workday, he kisses her again, then begins the household chores. He doesn't complain, he just smiles and tells Desra that he loves her. "He is my rock," says Desra. "When God made Cliff, He knew what I would need in life to get me through this."
I just love that picture of love, of compassion, of service. It is such a great example of taking the lowly place, the place that is not in the spotlight and the place that doesn't get much recognition. I'm sure Cliff would never have chosen this place, this life--yet he accepts it despite the fact that he hadn't planned on it--and does so with a contentedness that I cannot even imagine. His day-to-day life is not envied by our culture. What happens when a curveball is thrown your way? God can and will still be glorified wherever he has called us--and living within His will will bring us more joy than we could never image, and it will leave us more satisfied that we could ever have thought possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment