I prayed for a gentleman the other night who is a wheelchair-bound veteran. While he has his share of health issues, I discovered his primary concern to be loneliness. Besides medical transportation to and from appointments and home health visits a few times a week, he has basically no human interaction whatsoever. In his limited, small-town environment, and with his inhibited mobility, he has been unable to locate a venue where people of faith might comfortably fellowship with others who are like-minded.
According to a January, 2019 article posted on the Official website of the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration, The “Loneliness Epidemic,” loneliness and social isolation can be as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. This problem is especially severe among seniors. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over a quarter of the U.S. population now live alone. Twenty-eight percent of them are older adults.
How many are there among us in similar predicaments as my caller? What can we do about it? Not one of us can reach out to all the lonely people in America, but we can attend to those who are close at hand. We do not have to be a government agency or a political representative to pay a visit, to make a call, to write a note, or even to send a text that might be just what is needed to make someone’s day. I can recall a smile and a wave from a passing stranger brightening my day. Simple gestures can make a great difference in someone’s life—and in your own as well! “Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative's house when disaster strikes you-- better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.” (Proverbs 27:10 NIV)
(Health Resources & Services Administration, 2019)
(Bible Hub - Online Bible Study Suite, 2019)
(Photo by Vlad Sargu on Unsplash, 2019)