Loneliness. Every school day of my childhood I saw it written on Dad\u2019s face when Mom, my siblings, and I hurried out the door. Even now, I close my eyes and can see him sitting in his wheelchair at the kitchen table, sipping coffee through a straw and waving good-bye.\u00a0His grin couldn\u2019t hide his dread of spending another day with only the television to keep him company.<\/p>\n
In fact, Dad\u2019s face came immediately to mind when I heard that Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, had appointed a Minister of Loneliness in response to the Cox Commission report which said the following about the pervasiveness isolation in society today:<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung or old, loneliness doesn\u2019t discriminate.\u00a0Throughout 2017 we have heard from new parents, children, disabled people, carers, refugees and older people about their experience of loneliness.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report was already old news to Dad in the 1960s.<\/h4>\n
Had the report been issued in his day, he would have ridiculed the idea of a government appointing a minister of loneliness, the UK equivalent of a cabinet position in the US.\u00a0Dad knew the government couldn\u2019t cure his loneliness. He also knew that the people of God could.<\/p>\n
And the people of God did.<\/h4>\n
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Often, when my siblings and I came home from school, we found our pastor and Dad visiting in the living room. When a retired clergyman moved in down the street, he played cards with Dad several afternoons a week. Our uncle, who was married to Mom\u2019s sister, often stopped on his way home from school to chat with Dad. Members of my parents\u2019 Sunday school class dropped by, too. For years. For decades.<\/p>\n
I can still see Dad\u2019s joy when the people of God revealed His presence through them.<\/h4>\n
When I heard about the Minister of Loneliness, I was tempted to ridicule the idea as homage to the people God used to cure Dad\u2019s loneliness. But instead, God used the memory of those dear people to reveal my self-righteousness. When was the last time<\/em>, He asked me, you were the cure to someone\u2019s loneliness?<\/em><\/p>\n Conviction, repentance, and the pestering of the Holy Spirit spurred me to action. Who do you know who is lonely and what can you do to relieve it?\u00a0<\/em>Names and faces came to mind.<\/p>\n But I\u2019m only one person<\/em>, I objected.\u00a0And my\u00a0daughter needs my help when her baby comes\u00a0in a few weeks. My own ankle\u2019s still healing. I have a book contract to honor. Where will I find time to minister to loneliness in addition to everything else? <\/i>God\u2019s\u00a0answer didn\u2019t let me off the hook, but it did make the task manageable.<\/p>\n Which, I realized as I took some deep calming breaths, is every believer\u2019s loneliness ministry. We are called to do what we can within the limits of our circumstances. That means I\u2019m called to minister to loneliness without neglecting the needs of my daughter after the baby comes just as you\u2019re called to minister to loneliness without neglecting the care of your child with special needs.<\/p>\n Every believer\u2019s loneliness ministry will look different. They will reach different people in different ways and in different places. But in the end, God will use every believer\u2019s ministry to accomplish the same thing.<\/p>\n Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs, and she speaks at parenting and special needs conferences across the country. The Caregiver’s Notebook, her new organizer\/planner, will be released in the fall of 2014.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nI couldn\u2019t recall the last time.<\/h4>\n
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Do what you can,<\/em> He said.<\/h4>\n
Here\u2019s what that looks like for me.<\/h4>\n
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We will be the people God uses to reveal His presence by replacing loneliness with the joy of knowing Christ.<\/h4>\n
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