This story moved me today. Sometimes a simple story can bulldoze through the largest walls of hardened indifference. Teresa can always do that to me in her writing. "One day I visited a house where our sisters shelter the aged. This is one of the nicest houses in England, filled with beautiful and precious things, yet there was not one smile on the faces of these people. All of them were looking toward the door.
I asked the sister in charge, "Why are thy like that? Why can't you see a smile on their faces?" (I am accustomed to seeing smiles on people's faces. I think a smile generates a smile, just as love generates love.)"
The sister answered, "The same thing happens every day. They are always waiting for someone to come and visit them. Loneliness eats them up, and day after day they do not stop looking. Nobody comes."
Abandonment is an awful poverty. There are poor people everywhere, but the deepest poverty is not being loved.
The poor we seek may live near us or far away. They can be materially or spiritually poor. They may be hungry for bread or hungry for friendship. They may need clothing, or they may need the sense of wealth that God's love for them represents. They may need the shelter of a house made of bricks and cement or the shelter of having a place in our hearts."
I sat there in prayer this morning and asked God to once again give me His eyes. How hard would it be for me to take time out of a busy morning and go down to the nursing home and just talk to a few people. Show them that someone loves them. Show them that the world has not abandoned them. That will be me someday. I am barely in my 30's and I already know what it is like to feel abandoned and alone. It is a horrible sadness. If you know someone who is older and even if they have become rather crotchety, (that might make it more fun) just drop by and talk to them. Could be a neighbor, could be your Grandparents. I have a feeling that you will feel something of God that you may not expect; the true nature of God in it's purest form. I am going to do that this week. It's time I start acting like I have some love inside of me. How bout you?
Some of you may be already doing things like this. If you are share the stories!
8 comments:
wow. i am going to go get her writings.
"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
James 1:27 (NASB)
This verse has been with me for around 15 years, one that I hold deep in my heart. When I was in college (which was for a very long time) I spent eight years leading a group to sing and talk with the residents at a local nursing home. I haven’t been there in the last decade, but I still remember their faces and miss them. They didn’t care if we sang in perfect harmony or in a different key for every person, just that we were there. It was a struggle to get people there every week, but for me it was the top priority of every Monday night. I have not been nearly as involved since leaving college, and I miss that. When I go with a church group now, I still see the same beaming expression of joy at being visited. Every Halloween, my wife and I and some friends take our kids (mostly under 5) to trick-or-treat at a home, only we hand out the candy to the residents; as much as they love seeing people, they love seeing little children even more.
Another activity that I am working on reconnecting with is the other part of James 1:27, visiting orphans. This is another activity I was involved in while a student, spending about 2 weeks a year at different children’s homes to work around the campus and play with the kids. Just last May, I started getting back into this, going with my whole family and some others to a children’s home near the Texas / Mexico border to work and play. Again, worth every minute of the trip and hassle of getting there with a preschooler just to see the joy of the kids there and to see my girl talk about her new friends.
Most children’s homes have some kind of sponsor program where you can get involved in the boy’s and girl’s lives both in a monetary and personal way. I’ve not seen a nursing home yet that would tell you they don’t want and need people to drop by and visit. These are some of the easiest things to do, just be there with them, but it does require the thing we tend to value more than anything else: personal time. I’ve been guilty of hording my personal time, doling it out only to a few select people, but I’m working on changing that. This blog post is just the latest in a sting of promptings by the Spirit to get a move on and doing something. Thanks.
Kat, what an amazing gift that they gave and they received from this kindness. Sometimes our Seniors are truly forgotten. I am sorry for this. I have been blessed to have the opportunities early on (high school) to go to nursing homes and spend time with some of our seniors. I remember what that has meant to them. I haven't done this in a long while and I plan on trying to make it somewhat regular from now on. Thanks for sharing that.
Euphrony,
Thanks for mentioning the orphanages. For some reason that had not crossed my mind. One of the things that I loved about Teresa's story is that we can easily miss those who are in poverty. We miss them because sometimes in this society we hide them. Tucked away in a nursing home or orphanage. This is where Jesus would be on Sunday throughout the week. Not up at the church planning for the big Sunday-bash. I love the James verse.
I feel like I should share something here with you guys. There is a prayer so simple and honest that I pray from time to time. It is so effective that I am sometimes hesitant to pray it. "Jesus, help me to see other's today with your eyes" I shouldn't be hesitant to pray that prayer EVER but for some reason I am, or I just forget. I guess I hesitate to speak that prayer at times because it is ALWAYS answered and it is ALWAYS so overwhelming. I prayed that this morning and I have already cried today at least 6 times. It's a good thing this crying bit. It cleanses out all that selfishness and indifference.
The last time I prayed that was about 1 year ago. (Now I know this sounds weird because I always pray to be crucified with Christ and for Him to live through me but actually asking to see with HIS eyes is something specific and real and for me, the result is something overwhelming.)
So about a year ago there was this man that came into the church and he was broken. He had lost his wife of 25 years and was weeping as one of the ministers hugged him. Normally I might get a bit choked up but this day I had prayed to see people through the eyes of Christ and I saw this man and began to weep. I barely new the man and I was even a bit thrown off by my reaction. Then I remembered my prayer. I shared in his suffering just as Jesus did at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. I often wondered how the Lord could weep when he knew that Lazarus was to be raised. He had said he would do so 3 days before. It was because he felt the grief of family. He took that grief and shared it. This whole experience is hard to explain and I hesitated at first to try but I felt like I should begin to try.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your story.
Well, I don't think I've ever shared this before, but this seems like an okay time to do it.
My parents live in a tiny town near Columbus, Texas, about 70 miles west of Houston. In 2001, during Tropical Storm Allison, my mother was checked into the Texas Medical Center (I think that's what it's called, in downtown Houston) because she had a bout with pneumonia, and she nearly died from it. She has less than 50% lung capacity since that time and has a lot of trouble keeping weight on (meaning weighs too little, has no appetite, etc). My dad got a pacemaker a few years ago, and before that his doctor said he nearly died, without even realizing there was anything wrong until he started getting weak and dizzy.
So basically, they've been in poor health for the last few years, living out in the middle of nowhere. During this entire time, they have had a small church that they attend in the little town nearby (Sheridan) that has basically been the hands of the Lord to them during this time. These people have mowed their lawn, and brought them meals, taken care of their pets, and done many other household chores that my parents are now physically unable to do.
I very much relate to what Kat is saying about having people that love the Lord who are helping to look after those who we love but can't be with. I'm absolutely convinced that what Euphrony and Seth are saying here is right on -- this is the very heart of Jesus, and the very core of His most fundamental message.
Anyone who seeks a deeper knowledge of what pleases the Lord will know that this is the truth, and yes it really is just this simple. We all tend to want to complicate it needlessly.
And regarding my parents, when my wife and I bought our home here in Tennessee, we deliberately bought one with enough land (and lenient enough local regulations) so that we could build a little guest house on our property that my parents will come and live in. We've been working on it since we've been here, and it should be completed within the next few weeks, and by the end of this summer we will be moving my parents here permanently. They will no longer be far away from everyone and everything -- and even though we are grateful to the little church in Sheridan that has taken such good care of them, we are looking forward to having them here on our property where we can take good care of them ourselves. :-)
Thanks so much for sharing this, Seth. I grew up visiting nursing homes with my parents and my G.A. group from church. We'd talk to the people and sing hymns for them. Some would sing along, and some would just listen. We could tell that it meant so much to them to be visited by someone. Some people in nursing homes, like my Grandma, have family and friends who come to visit them regularly. Others, though, break my heart because they've either been forgotten or they don't have any family or church family. I've always been convicted that I need to visit these forgotten people, but once I got married and started working I didn't make time to do it. When I had my daughter, though, I quit my job to stay at home. I started volunteering with my church's Homebound Ministry, and I was assigned to an elderly couple who live near me. They are still able to live in their home, but they can't get out much because of their health. We started visiting them when my daughter was only 3 months old, and we still visit them even though we're now at a different church. I can't tell you how much my life has been blessed by getting to know these wonderful people. They always tell us how much it means to them to see us, but I know it means at least as much to us. I think so many of us say, "I'd like to do that once my kids are older," but I've really enjoyed taking my kids with me. It's good for the kids to get to know older people, and the older people especially enjoy seeing kids. Their eyes light up at the sight of children. Thanks for the reminder, Seth! If you want someone to go along with you to a nursing home, we'd be glad to go with you. I'm going to try to find a nursing home in my area that needs some attention.
Hey Susanne, if you find one and you all want to go then let us know. When we get back from Florida in a week or so we are going to start, I think what we hope to be a habit. I want to begin visiting some children's Hospitals and Nursing Homes. Maybe start there. Sing some music. Sit and talk.
But first, I need to call my Grandpa.
Thanks everyone for the encouragement.
I'll let you know! Sounds great. And let me know if you need some extra people to go along with you guys. My 3-year-old might even sing and dance for them. :)
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