Wednesday morning I gave Mom a big hug. I told her how much I loved her, and I told her that she has been a great mother.

The sad thing about my comments is that Mom was cognizant of them for just a few brief minutes. My fleeting hug was overpowered by the forceful grip of Alzheimers. Whatever the moment is, Mom can be happy, sad, or angry–but just for a momet. Then, well then, it is another thought or the same one repeated again and again, and a moment later, again.

Even though I knew she would not remember, we reminisced. We talked about about the good times, family, and how much I look like her dad (People say her dad was a handsome man).

Mom has been a much better mother to me than I have ever been a son to her. In my personal life, I spell 911 with three letters: M-O-M. She has always been “there” for me when I needed her. She never gave up on me, and that is how I made it through a certain period of my life: I always knew Mom would love me and be “there” for me.

In my spiritual life, I spell 911 with a different set of letters: G-O-D. Thankfully, He has never given up on me. Even though there have been times that I have forgotten Him, He has always remembered me.

I see this pattern time and again in the bible. Even though Joseph’s brothers dropped him into a pit and forgot him, God remembered him and blessed him.

When Moses was telling God to forget him and send Aaron in his place, God didn’t give up on Moses, and He used Moses to lead Israel out of bondage.

God has never given up on me, but He did give up His son. He gave up Jesus to die on the cross for us: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son to die that we might live (John 3:16).

How do you spell 911? Is it D-A-D, M-O-M, G-O-D, or S-O-N of God?