On the way up to Jadon's orthodontic appointment (during which we also planned to visit the Highland LLU clinic for the first time since our 2015 departure), I asked Jadon if he would like to visit a convalescent home with me and play the piano for the residents there. In the past he was generally mixed about this kind of serving, so I totally left it up to him whether he wanted to play for the residents. He immediately agreed. As we were going in I told him I was proud of him for having the heart to serve others with his gifts, to which he matter-of-factly responded that it was also because he wanted to show off a little. I told him it was a sign of maturity that he had that insight about himself.
A bit earlier when I was telling Jadon about Papa Carl (an old patient of mine who suffers from Alzheimer's dementia), I explained that the dementia has slowly left him unable to take care of himself, recognize his wife, or even talk. Jadon asked me, "What does he say when he's with his wife?" I told him that he used to say that she was "a nice lady" but that I did not know what he would say now. Jadon said, "That's kind of both funny and sad at the same time." A few minutes later he asked, "Is Papa Carl a Christian?" I said he is, and Jadon asked further, "How would he know he's a Christian if he doesn't even know his own wife?" I explained that there's now a "disconnect" between what his spirit knows and what his physical body (by way of his now disordered brain) can tell us.
Brokenness sure leads to some interesting questions, ones I'm glad Jadon's asking.
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