July 10 | Application (‘If You Knew’)

On their wedding day, does a couple fully understand what it means to pledge their love “for better or worse . . .”? When parents welcome a new baby, do they realize what that child will cost—not only in dollars, but in sleepless nights, hard conversations, and trips to the emergency room? . . .

September 27, 2014

Christian Standard

Care & Counseling

Facing the Darkness as Children of Light

By Paul E. Boatman The words pierced even though they were not a surprise. “Mrs. Boatman, you have persistent and pervasive memory loss of an Alzheimer”s type.” Alzheimer”s! We did not want to hear the “A” word. Alzheimer”s has a dark, hopeless sound to it. My wife, Mary, had been exhibiting patterns of memory loss for a couple of years. The symptoms were occasionally amusing, frequently frustrating, and increasingly intrusive.Â Our initial pursuit of answers was not taken seriously. “We all have forgetfulness as we age.” “Maybe some of your drugs are having adverse side-effects.” (With a history of surgeries