We must spend time with elderly

This past week while I was visiting my mother in the nursing home where she lives, she was treated to two special visitors. They were Paris the dog, and Petunia the pot-bellied pig. While a lot of people petted Paris the dog, the star was Petunia the pig. My mother and the other residents had big smiles on their faces and were full of chuckles when Petunia was near. They even got to feed Petunia potato chips.

Paris and Petunia reminded me of how important visiting the elderly is not only for animals who love the attention, but for humans as well. So many elderly people have no relatives nearby to visit with. But, we have the power to be “family” to those who are elderly. One of the greatest things we can do is to spend time with an old person and listen. Listen to stories of the remarkable things they have done. Listen to stories about hilarious misadventures. Listen to stories that contain wisdom – a wisdom we can take with us to make our journey through life easier.

And for those of us who belong to a church, to a particular family of faith, let us not forget our elderly as well. As a pastor I know a lot of the discussion and a lot of effort is put toward children, youth and young adults. Ministering to these age groups is important, don’t get me wrong, but it is easy to devote so much effort and programming to these groups that we neglect another important group, our seniors. Our senior citizens possess the stories of our history, stories of joy, stories of hardship, stories of wisdom, and stories of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Let us, each and every one, bear witness to and give dignity to our elderly by spending time with them.

“You must rise in the presence of an old person and respect the elderly. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.”  Leviticus 19:32