God Reaches Out to the Lonely
“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing;..” Psalms 68:5-6
This past week we began taking meals to an elderly gentleman who is no longer physically able to attend our meals. Art has been a frequent participant at CCDC until his COPD has worsened and he can’t walk to our ministry. He lives a few houses down the street from Westminster Community Center where we distribute sack lunches and dinner meals.
Art lives by himself and has only a small amount of contact from his children, most of whom live elsewhere. He is 85 years old and doesn’t have friends who can stop by to see him. He has become isolated and lonely. We have become his friends and family. He really appreciates our visits and loves carrying on conversations with us.
More than 60 percent of Americans report feeling lonely, left out, poorly understood, and lacking companionship, according to a recent report by Cigna Insurance. Loneliness is an increasing problem in America. The lockdowns and loss of jobs hit the underclass more than other segments of our society, and the result has led to greater isolation, loneliness, and depression.
Tabitha has been a faithful participant at CCDC and we have grown to be good friends with her. But she has recently had several challenges with her school-age daughter, her contracting cancer, and her elderly father’s declining health. She has been very open about her worries and we have been faithfully praying for her and her family. She even has written us a letter that pours out her heart to us. She feels under great stress with her life and it makes her feel that God is not concerned with her needs. We are following up with our assurances that God is with her and we will be there for her.
Psalm 68 beautifully describes God as the One who does care! God cares for the lonely. He “sets the lonely in families.” God is not distant. In fact, he comes close to us when we are feeling all alone with our problems, and he connects us with his family. CCDC seeks to be God’s family. We reach out to those who live in the Near Eastside of Indy and extend our welcome to be a part of our family. We want those like Art and Tabitha to know that they are not alone. We try to make the extra effort to reach out to those in our community who don’t have family or friends. So many don’t have anyone that cares about them. We want to build more than an organization distributing food and other essentials to people in need. We want to build friendships. We want to build a sense of community centered on Christ’s love.
We are grateful for the support and involvement of volunteers who help us reach out in caring for people’s lives. We look forward to having indoor meals again soon and we will need more volunteers to be involved with our ministry. Please pray for our ministry and come join us in being God’s family.
May God’s peace be with you,
Pastor Jim and Debby Riley