By David ReayThursday 17 Nov 2016LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read 2 Thessalonians 3:13
13 As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good. (NLT)
People in crisis are often overwhelmed with a flood of support. Cards, emails, flowers, cooked meals—all expressions of the love and care of others. And then, as time passes, the attention lessens. As indeed it must: we can’t exist in crisis mode all the time.
But many such people report loneliness and a sense of abandonment when the crisis phase passes. The grief continues; the sadness still haunts them; the pain still inflicts itself on them. But there are fewer and fewer people paying attention. Understandable perhaps, but also saddening.
Some people stay away from sick people who don’t get well because it draws attention to uncomfortable issues of faith and healing. Some people stay away from long-term grieving people because they figure that grief is something to get over and they just don’t know what to say beyond the crisis phase.
Parents of disabled children, carers for elderly dementia sufferers, those suffering post-traumatic stress, all need ongoing care. Not perhaps at an intense level, but enough care to remind them they are not forgotten. Caring is a long-haul business.
People in pain and loss situations often wonder where God is in the midst of it all. His people are to be flesh-and-blood reminders of his love.
Blessings
David Reay