Scripture
How deep I am sunk in misery groaning in my distress! I shall wait for God; I shall praise Him, my deliver, my God.
~Psalms 42:5, REB
Quote
The chief cause of discouragement and despair is loneliness.
~Charles L. Allen
Loneliness and solitude are not the same thing. I spend at least a third of my time alone. I enjoy solitude as long as it is a choice. I’m not lonely because June is in the house and the kids are a phone call away and of course Holly and crew are less than ten feet away. Loneliness is the feeling of isolation. Loneliness is feeling forgotten. This explains why so many residents in the nursing home feel lonely. One of my old preacher friends is at Summerfords and I did not know he was there. I have made regular visits to Summerfords for over a year due to Mrs. Annie and Neil Brown. One of the preachers came up to me a few weeks ago and told me he had been to see him and he ask about me. I had visited him three or four years ago while he was in assisted living in Priceville. So I went that very day to see him and he didn’t know me: I was heart broken. This is my life story, waiting until it is too late. The preacher who told me about him made this remark: “He says, all of the preachers have forgotten me.” He wasn’t lying, we have a tendency to forget our own.
You can be lonely in a crowd: the nursing home was full of people but the preacher felt forgotten by his peers. Many are forgotten by family. You would be shocked by the number of residents who have no company at all. Everyone knows I am horrible with names; it is a terrible weakness. What do we communicate to others when we forget their name? It is another way of saying, “You are not that important to me.” Imagine how I feel when I forget a surgery or a prayer request. So far, I have not forgotten a COLS but it’s coming. I have forgotten weddings. Being forgotten, being left out or being ignored contributes to loneliness. The antidote is Jesus. Jesus is always present and He will never leave us nor forsake us and never ever will He forget us.
October is literally flying by as it always does: it is a busy, busy month. The leaves are beginning to change just a bit but the weather has been perfect; especially the tempts. Lilly Graham is in ICU in critical condition: please pray for the Graham family.
GRACE POINT called Josh Melson to be our Youth Pastor. Josh is a native of Danville, graduated at DHS and attended church and was baptized at DBC. We are excited about Josh and Mary joining us and the upcoming REVIVAL with Tim and Doug. Doug sang at Mrs. Jewels COLS yesterday and I was moved to tears by the last song…Come To Jesus. We have invited the entire DBC congregation to our Sunday night service November 3. We could pack the house. Wouldn’t that be exciting.