More On Mild Cognitive Impairment

Monday, I wrote about being diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment. They said it could be a precursor to dementia but that is not necessarily the case. When they retest me next Spring, they will have a better fix on that question. I am a little nervous about that issue. If it moves into full dementia, what might I do that will embarrass myself or my family? But there is nothing I can do about it, so I plow on.

In the meantime, I am compensating in several ways. I rely heavily (perhaps too heavily) on Charlene’s memory to ease me out of awkward situations. And I have become meticulous about my calendar. I may refer to it several times a day to be sure I don’t forget anything. Sometimes something sneaks up on me, anyway, serving as an incentive to check it more often.

I keep lists. Everything I know of that I need to attend to is on one of several lists on my phone. There is the “Projects” list and the “Today” list. The word “Today” is used very broadly, meaning soon. And there are lists related to various projects I am working on with lists of things done and things still needed.

So far, I am coping. The docs advise staying active. Check. Exercising. Check. Playing games that stimulate your mind. Check. I go up the stairs in our building once or twice a day. That’s 95 stairs each way, and I am now working on speed. Charlene and I play a game almost every meal.

I am preaching at the Roseville church this Sunday and am trying to find people to fill the pulpit there each of the five Sundays in December. One difference there is that I have written out the entire sermon for Sunday rather than just notes to jog my memory. A note that would have been enough for several minutes of dialog now sometimes doesn’t give me a clue of what I had in mind.

And I have renewed this blog and am planning to rewrite my first two books combining them into one and republishing them. I will keep you posted on those efforts and the progress of the Mild Cognitive Impairment. Who will win the battle?

100 proof chaos

I delivered Charlene to the airport this morning for her 6:30 flight to Haiti. In the security line ahead there was a young man wearing a t-shirt with the words "100 proof chaos" on the back. If he had not been inaccessible I might would have asked him about it.

The term "100 proof" stems from the days when sailors were paid in rum. To test whether the rum had been watered down, they would ignite it. If it would burn, it was considered 100 proof. Rum wil burn at about 50 percent alcohol. So "100 proof" means about 50% of the possible strength.

So the young man was telling the world he was in a state that was about half chaos, meaning "a state lacking order or predictability" or a "state of confusion."

Isn't that where the church is today? About half of what we do is highly predictable. We show up on Sunday morning and often the format is exactly as we would have laid it out, based on our experience with having been there before. So at the congregational level we are highly predictable. But across groups of people trying to follow Jesus we are chaotic. One group endorses the practice of homosexuality, another condemns it. One group has women in major speaking roles, another prohibits it. One group insists on baptism for membership, another does not. One group acts on their concern for the poor, another does not.

It would not be a proud label to place on the church, but might be an accurate one. How can we change it? By loving one another anyway, by getting to know each other better, and through dialog. Let's keep talking.