Earlier this week, I wrote about how senior citizens enrich our lives in so many ways. Now it’s time to share about how we can bless their lives—and this is also a great opportunity to plant a few seeds of kindness and compassion in your children.
In the midst of our hectic days, it’s easy to forget about the limitations that aging can bring. Bodies that once could do almost anything, no longer are up to the challenges, and often, simple everyday activities can be overwhelming and frustrating to those who can no longer do them.
So here are a few ways that we can become extensions of God’s hands to our senior citizen friends:
1) Pay them a visit.
A simple visit can be a delightful gift. For someone living alone, the days can be long and lonely. Listen to their stories . . . even if you’ve heard them before. And if their stories are about their medical woes, have patience. If you think about it, we talk about the things we do, and for some elderly folks, those doctor visits and medical ailments are what their lives are about. Visit a nursing home—and not just at Christmas or Easter. Have your children color pictures for them—and take your children to see them. Children are sunshine, and many senior citizens haven’t had the chance to enjoy a child for a long time.
2) Share a Meal.
Take them a meal, invite them to dinner at your home, or take them out to eat. Package some single-sized containers of foods that you can put in their freezers. Include your senior citizen friends in your holiday gatherings.
3) Give them a ride.
Offer to be their taxi service for doctor appointments or trips to the grocery store. Offer to take them to church if they’re no longer able to drive. That will be a huge blessing.For those with arthritis, gripping a steering wheel can be painful. And for those who are weak, carrying their groceries in and putting them up can feel like they’ve run a marathon.
4) Shop for them.
Help them with their shopping for birthday, Christmas, or other gifts. Hang around and wrap the gifts and enjoy some conversation with them.
5) Clean for them.
Take a few hours and do some of the deep cleaning that they’re no longer able to do. It’s hard when you’ve kept a clean home and you no longer have the physical strength to wash windows or scrub floors.
6) Help with home/car maintenance and lawn work.
Especially for those on a fixed income, those kinds of expenses can be beyond their budgets. Do car maintenance for them. Rotate their tires. Change the oil. Give the car a wash job.
7) Give them hugs.
Give them a hug. You might be the only human touch they’ve had in a long time.
These things sound so simple, but they can mean so much. How could you bless a senior citizen today?
