Bible Passages
Carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2 (CEB)
Those who are gracious to the poor lend to the Lord, and the Lord will fully repay them.
Proverbs 19:17 (CEB)
Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have because God is pleased with these kinds of sacrifices.
Hebrews 13:16 (CEB)
Devotion
This ministry needs your help. I need your help. At this point, I am a one-person army. As much fun as it is, I can’t reach everyone who needs help. This is a worldwide ministry, after all. But, there are even needs in my own neighborhood I am having trouble fulfilling. Here are some of the people I visit in my small 55+ community. Of course, these are not their real names.
Mable lives alone. She is very frail. She has a lung condition that requires she give herself oxygen treatments every few hours. Like all of us, she has things she needs done around her house, including yardwork and mowing. I watched her walk from her kitchen to her living room, not very far at all, the other day. It took her more than a couple of minutes. There is no way she can do much for herself. Her son helps some, but he is not young and lives too far away to run over every time she needs help.
One neighbor, Sarah, moved in with another neighbor, Beverly, to take care of her as best she can. Beverly is also on oxygen, and I have never seen her without hoses in her nose. Sarah can’t drive anymore, so Beverly does the driving when they go shopping, run errands, or go to doctor appointments. Both ladies know this is not a very safe situation. Their primary need is for a driver, and help with grocery shopping and errands.
Violet is a shut-in, and needs someone to talk to, and to check in on her. She doesn’t leave her house. The only other person she sees is her caregiver, who came in on a Monday and found Violet had fallen on Saturday and badly injured herself. Worse, she was still where and how she fell, with nothing to eat or drink all weekend.
Theresa has scoliosis. Her house has some basic handyman needs. There is a soft spot in her floor at the entryway. She has a wiring problem she seems to think is minor, but needs to be fixed. There is an inside door that sticks, and when it does she has to walk all through the house to go the twenty feet from her kitchen to her living room.
I’m sure your neighborhood has a Beverly, a Mable, a Violet, a Sarah, or a Theresa. Look around. Do you have neighbors you have never seen, who are perhaps shut-ins? Would it hurt to just knock on the door occasionally to see if they are okay? Is there something you can do to help make their isolation a little less depressing and solitary? Even if they greet you gruffly and with suspicion, keep going by. One day, they will realize you are trying to be a friend. After all, it took time for them to build those barriers between them and their neighbors. It will take time to break them down.
Keep trying and keep praying. The rewards are well worth the effort! Join me, and we will conquer the world with love, one neighbor at at time.
Prayer Focus
Neighbors in need
Prayer
Lord, lead me to someone who needs my help. Show me how to reach out to them and connect with them. Let me be a blessing to them. Amen.
Final Thought
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