From the earliest days of COVID-19, we heard how our senior population is at greatest risk. With wisdom developed over layers of decades, seniors adapted. They isolated at home and did what they needed to do to outlast COVID-19.
Godly seniors teach us how isolation doesn’t mean missing out on opportunities to serve God globally. People who love them visit at windows, make signs, shop and drop, pray, call, send cards, and stay away. While we are being mindful of caring for them, many seniors are mindful of caring for others. Though social media has been a new tool for most older people, many have ventured into new territory technologically. They’ve learned to use Facebook, Facetime, Hangouts, Voxer, and Snapchat. They’ve worshiped online with their churches.
Senior saints show us how to willingly invest, while necessarily isolating.
One senior we’ll call Wilma found herself unable to work her regular job when Stay at Home orders began to wash over the United States. Her usual ministry of spending time with older elders at a nursing home was also put on hold as the facility closed to visitors. With fewer people and extra time on her hands, Wilma connected with current news about COVID, carefully following news and needs shared on social media by Live Global.
“Facebook has come to be a wonderful tool for me (as a ‘senior’) during this difficult time of the COVID-19. My ‘go to’ page every day is Live Global … With my heart for Missions, I’ve been reading about fellow believers world-wide. In spite of the hardships they are facing now, they are reaching out to help meet the physical needs of their church families and neighbors. They’re looking a lot like Jesus as they serve others.”
Wilma reached out to ask questions, she prayed daily for the needs of national partners by name, and she asked God to show her how she could send a financial gift from her limited income. She used social media as a means of connection to global ministry. When Wilma’s stimulus check came, she joyfully and prayerfully considered the needs of the partners she had learned about, and she chose a direction for her sacrificial gift. Her awareness and her availability led her to global action unlimited by her age.
“It blesses me to hear these stories each day, and I want to be a part of what God is doing in their lives. For me prayer is the most important thing I can do. Also, when the Lord ‘tugs on my heart’ to share financially (because of how abundantly He always provides for me), then I reach out in this way as well. Thinking of others and praying for them is a refreshing way to spend the hours of our ‘long’ days.”
Hardships didn’t hold this senior back. Undeterred by age, income, isolation, or COVID-19 risk factors, Wilma models how to glorify God in new ways in new times.
- Read about Gospel Opportunities in COVID-19.
- Find out about COVID-19 Around the Globe.