Yesterday was CHRISTMAS the birth of our LORD JESUS CHRIST a very meaningful day indeed for the majority of us that is. As I observed many many folk shopping in one of the very few stores open (drugstore), I encountered an elderly gentleman a little after 10am, swho asked for my help. As I began to listen to his story I began to see something that I find not only apalling but unforgivable. This senior needed to contact his 40 something daughter and he only her work number and her bhome number. Well you say why didn't he just call her himself or go look for her, well when you'er in a lot of pain and misery and hardly able to walk and your phone is broken and you don't have enough money and working with a fixed income thats difficult. This gentleman has arthritis and is walking with a cane to ballance himself. He asked me if i would be so kind as to call his daughter for him because he needed some money to just get a bottle of pain pills for his pain. So I called the numbers he gave me and first of all her home number is not working and her employment has a mailbox thats full. I detected a strong odor of kerosene in his clothing, later I find out he doesn't have any heat in his home. Anyway He was able to obtain his medication for his pain. Then He asked me to read something him. Here stands an elderly parent who shared with me that he was from the south and was raised on a farm and had lillte schooling brcause he had to leave school to work the farm at an early age so his reading was limited, although he had been a unionised laborer for sometime in this area.
As I began to read that document, it was about his insurence that he will have to purchase and at age 85 its going to cost him $169.00 a month. When he heard this he told me he had insurence, my concern was is it current. Now he needed a way to get home because he had walked to the store and that was over two miles. Luckly my Pastor had come to see me at work and gave this senior a lift home. He told him that his daughter only comes to see him when she needs money to pay her rent, his other three children are all over the place but do not visit him. He's alone in a big house with no heat, a broken telephone and no one to come and see about him by himself on five achers of land.
Not only is this sad but he went to bed because he was cold, he won't have any money until the 4th of the month. Does this sound familiar. How many times do we hear of kids commiting their elderly parents into nursing homes and just forgetting them ? All I had was prayer for him and compassion. He had thanked GOD for his time because his birthday was December 24th and he was happy to have reached age 85. How soon we forget them once they've gotten old. If they live long enough someday they will also. What goes around comes around everybody gets theirs in due time.
Is this right ??