A Coffee and Cookie Lesson

Maybe one of the reasons that I enjoy working in a memory care environment so much is because of the simplicity and honesty of my residents. When a person has dementia, they are stripped of many ( if not all) of the mental "filters" that healthy human beings possess in their brains. You know, those filters that prevent us from verbally telling someone that they need to lose weight, or the outfit that they chose to wear looks hideous. We all think those things, but when you have dementia, what you think comes right out of your mouth. I have often thought that people with healthy brains could learn a thing or two from these people who have been labeled as "losing their minds".
In my personal life, I have been undergoing some very difficult times, due to a concussion and a very stressful working environment. To be quite honest, everything that I do these days wears me out. If I am not dealing with a raging headache or inconvenient nausea, I'm battling mood swings that seem to have a life of their own. These symptoms have directly affected the entirety of my life, especially my job. It seems like I'm forgetting a lot more things these days, having less patience and by the look and sound of the reaction of my superiors, that I'm not meeting "performance standards".
In this world, there are a lot of standards that we have to meet. Some of them are standards that we place on ourselves, but there are many standards that are placed on us just by living and breathing. And, if you are like me, if you desire to go "beyond the standards" ( which I'm learning is highly overrated), it actually can backfire, because than people set their standards and expectations to what you have set for yourself. So the moment you make a noticeable mistake, experience the set back of an injury or get sick, you are than slowly lowered into a hole that was dug on your own accord, with the help of a few willing bystanders.
Today was a rough day. By 2:30, I had two hours left on the clock and absolutely no will or ambition left. I forced myself out of my desk chair, and made my way to the 4th floor. I knocked on all of their doors, enticing them to come out for a cookie and a cup of of coffee. One by one they shuffled out of their rooms and made their way to the dining room. As I poured the coffee and served the cookies, one of my residents had a seat at the kitchen island. As I poured him a cup of coffee and gave him his cookie, he looked me in the eye and said with absolute sincerity."you are such a sweetheart. Thank you!". As I fought back tears, I realized how blessed I was to be with people that were impressed at my sheer ability to give them a cookie and pour them a cup of coffee. That was enough them. I didn't need to write an impressive blog post, haul them on an outing, respond well in a care conference, or throw a fantastic event with streamers, music and cake. Love, appreciation and affection was poured out on me as a result of a cookie and a cup of coffee.
It didn't take long to realize that that is what the Lord was trying so desperately to communicate to my heart. Despite my earthly circumstances, God just desires me to love on Him, to trust Him and to to be faithful to Him. That's all. That's all that He asks of us. We don't have to earn His approval, we don't have to meet standards that are never verbalized or communicated. Although we can't get lazy and apathetic in the grace that has been extended to us by His death on the cross, we are enough just the way we are.

When we fall in the world, it seems as if we get a red dot placed on our forehead to represent our mistakes and failures. But when we fall in God's grace, it is simply another opportunity for Him to love and nurture His child and affirm them that because we are His, we are sufficient. We are enough. We are His.