I should have noticed the confusion and dementia creeping in and taking residence when each time I called my mother, she asked, “Are you still overseas?” Of course, I was still here, still serving on God’s chosen field for us. Surely, she did not think that I had traveled home without letting her know. 

During our next home assignment, the truth of Mom’s decline became quite evident. I found various pills all around the apartment, took her to doctor appointments after eardrops were mistaken for eyedrops, and sat in on several interviews at their independent living facility. Saddened but determined to do all I could, I spent many hours filling out paperwork, trusting God to supply the funding, and moving my parents to assisted living. 

The more time I spent with Mom, the more concerned I became. As we visited churches and talked with supporters, I wondered if I could really move back across the ocean. Would our supporters understand if we needed to leave this ministry to help take care of her? Though my sister lived in town and could look in on Mom, peace floated out of reach like a vapor I could not grasp. My husband believed we should return to our overseas assignment, but could I actually do it? As I prayed for wisdom and clarity, it seemed God was saying, “Go.” Still, my heart lacked peace.

One day, in the middle of months of confusion, God gave my mother a few moments of clarity. For just a brief window of time, she was back to her old self. We were conversing like we had pre-dementia. Pre-Alzheimers.

“You need to go back to your ministry in Europe, Joyce. That’s where you should be!”

Her clarity did not last long. However, with those few sentences, declarations, really, the peace I had been waiting for flooded my soul, and I knew I had heard from God. God would not show me the decision everyone else should make in a similar situation, but in this instance of my life, the wisdom I had prayed for came. In this covid-19 environment, it was comforting to know that there are no supply chain disruptions or production shortages for the peace God gives. John 14:27