Lonely Old People

I just finished reading my friend Dixie's blog about how he listened to an old woman talk non-stop today while he was eating lunch at the diner and it prompted me to write about a couple of conversations I had yesterday.

Yesterday was the first day I worked with my new secretary and she truly is a gem. She can carry on a few conversations, get busy work done, finish the checklist I've left for her while also sharing some wonderful ideas. She mentioned that Wednesday she had been at the doctor's office and was listening to the conversations in the waiting room. One man was bragging that he was the oldest in the room when a woman corrected him and admitted that she was 93. He changed the subject and began talking about the fact that his son was coming to visit and how excited he was to which the 93 year old replied, "how lovely it would be to have a visit to look forward to." My secretary was struck by this woman's loneliness and realized that she spoke the reality of many of the population of our town. She couldn't sleep last night and began to brainstorm how the church could meet this need of helping lonely old people.

My first thought was meals on wheels which we've been trying to start for over a year now. But I liked the idea she came up with -- why not start something akin to Big Brothers and Big Sisters only for older people? Match people according to interests and let them form local friendships. I really liked the idea. For one thing, I have several in my congregation who are independent enough but are widowed and need something like this to keep them busy. I have others who just yearn to be visited by someone. They can no longer get out much and they just desire some attention. I thanked my secretary for the idea and I'm going to begin to toss the idea around with some of the congregational leaders. I think it could be a wonderful outreach ministry!

But as she shared this story, I remembered that I had promised one of our shut-ins that I would spend some time with her that day. Somehow amid all of the self-made busy-ness, I had almost forgotten her. I stopped by her home and was greeted by a huge smile and a "I was hoping you wouldn't forget!" And while I usually do most of the talking with her, she must have talked a mile a minute. She shared memories of her garden -- the many flowers and vegetables she and her husband had raised. She told me about taming wild animals and seeing many others at work on her garden. And she smiled and laughed. She even showed me pictures of her great granddaughter who had surprise-visited her a month ago. Because she was happy sharing her story, I too was happy, though I did get a little fidgety. (It was a bit difficult for me to be IN that moment.) And she told me she had almost called and invited me to lunch that day. I told her I had eaten alone and had wondered who I should share lunch with. Next time I know to call on her and I think it will allow both of us to discover that God is there, between the two or three who are gathered.