Spiritual Care Support Ministries speaks to all ages, but especially the elderly. God loves not only healthy people, but the sick as well. He is there to support you and transform your lives. Even if you have cancer or Crohn’s disease, even if your loved one has died, God is there to sustain you through a very difficult time in your life. And when you are transformed, the difference is miraculous!
This is a message especially to you who are elderly. As a hospital and hospice Chaplain, I have sat with you, and I have heard the needs of your heart. They are what I call the “Five D’s”: Deterioration; Dependency on others; Detachment from so many of the things you used to love; Deprivation – all the losses in life; and Death. We invite you to come to or call our Ministry Center; we will sit with you and share from Psalms 147:3 that He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. We will tell you that God can transform you from the inside out. Yes, even if you’re sick, even if you are dying, and even if you are bereaved. And the transformation can be remarkable.
What happens to you when there is a transformation in your life? I have seen it. I have seen the changes as people come to our GriefShare groups. I have seen it in our Bible studies, when our volunteers share in our Café over a cup of coffee. People have come when they’re on chemo treatments and cannot go to their faith community because the Bible studies are too long. But they will come for a special ten minute Bible study at the Center.
And I sit with you, the elderly, and I hear how you’re forgotten. Your family doesn’t remember you; you want somebody to listen. You want to know how God fits into your journey even in the autumn years of life. So let me tell you what transformation will do for you. Let’s use the word Transformation itself to describe it.
- T You become Thankful.
- R You are Restored.
- You will have a change in your relationship with God. You will understand who Jesus is, that there’s a purpose in your life, and that God uses even the elderly like He used Abraham and Moses and many others in scripture.
- A is for Action. You become a person of action.
- N You are New.
- You are new emotionally, you are new physically, and you are new spiritually as God transforms you.
- S You are Satisfied.
- You are satisfied wherever you are. You might have less, and you may even be in a nursing home or assisted living; maybe even your church has neglected you. But you are satisfied because you know what the Scriptures say, that God will never leave you nor forsake you.
- F You are Forgiven.
- You understand that God forgives. And in learning about forgiveness, you have liberty and freedom to forgive others. One of my greatest blessings is when I sit with someone who at last understands forgiveness.
- O is for Opportunities. May opportunities open up for you as you are transformed.
- R You are Receptive to the needs of others.
- You no longer are thinking just of yourself, but you are more sensitive to your neighbor, or that other one in the nursing home.
- M Meaning. You will know there’s meaning in your life.
- A My father once told me, “When I’m transformed, I can be an Advisor
- because of all my experiences.” So as God transforms you, God uses you as a mentor, an advisor.
- T You become more Thoughtful.
- I You become an Imitator of Christ.
- Second Corinthians 3:18 talks about being transformed into the likeness of Christ. You will become more loving and kind.
- O Obedient to God’s will.
- N When you are transformed, you become a Nicer person.
So here we have it. You as an elderly person can be transformed by the power of God.
And for all others who are reading this blog, wouldn’t you like this for your community? No longer would we see the elderly depressed, having no hope, no direction, being unkind to others, but valuable people who have been transformed by the power of God. We could see people who are joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer; sharing with God and with other people as God shows the needs around them. People who have learned to practice hospitality as God works in their lives.
I have seen what God can do in your life. He can do it in your community. It all begins with prayer.