It's Our Turn

We have been able to take several teams into the homes of our elderly individuals that we give food to on Monday mornings.  We have a feeding program for them and some are home bound and send family to pick up food.  This has truly been a blessing.  It is pure joy to see the faces of the individuals as they invite us into their homes.  For the most part, Haiti cares for the elderly much better than people in the US.  There are no nursing homes or in home care for these individuals.  They are fully at the mercies of God and their family and close friends.  I have been in the homes of a man that rents one room and lives alone, a woman that is blessed to live with family, and a woman that is 104, her daughter, granddaughter, the daughter-in-law of her daughter, and 3 great grandchildren also lives in the house.  The men have either died or run off to be with other women.  All of them so happy to just have someone come visit, talk, sing, and pray with them.

My heart is heavy for them because they have so little yet they have so much, but it breaks for the elderly in the US too.  I long for the next time I sit with my Granny and hold her hand.  The next time I can feed her ice cream and reflect on the solid foundation her, Pa, and Grandma Dean laid out before me and the faith that each of them had.  Granny can't talk, she sleeps most of the time, and she doesn't know who I am. But I know who she is.  So many people say they don't want to remember the elderly in their current state or the person doesn't know if we are there or not.  Each of these may be true, but when Granny opens her eyes and communicates with a smile, I know she knows someone is there and someone cares.

Please don't forget the widowed and elderly.  One day we will be that person and I pray that no one thinks these things about us and leaves us abandoned.  I encourage each of you to fight the battle of age with your family and friends.  Stay by their sides, and visit someone that needs love.  They've done so much for each of us, they have so much to teach us (even if it isn't with words), and now it's our turn to love on them.

James 1:27

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.