Dear Crosswalkers,
I came across a story that touched my heart and got me thinking about Christmas in the Silicon Valley. The article was entitled "An Epidemic of Loneliness." In it, a British medical doctor named Ishani Kar-Purkayastha shared about his interaction with an 82-year-old hospital patient named Doris. According to the doctor, Doris seemed healthy and ready to be discharged from the hospital on December 23. To his surprise, she kept complaining about mysterious health issues. Dr. Kar-Purkayastha wrote: "Yesterday it was her arm that was hurting, before that her hip. Truth is, Doris is an incredibly healthy 82-year-old, and we can't find anything. I have no doubt that it will be the same today."
When the X-rays came back normal, he told Doris that she would be discharged and would have to go home. Looking toward the floor, Doris quietly said, "I don't want to go home …. It's just that I'm all alone and there are so many hours in the day." Then after a long pause, she sighed and asked, "Doctor, can you give me a cure for loneliness?"
Dr. Kar-Purkayastha reflected on this incident:
I wish I could say yes. I wish I could prescribe her some antidepressants and be satisfied that I had done my best, but the truth is she's not clinically depressed. It's just that she has been left behind by a world that no longer revolves around her, not even the littlest bit.
There are thousands like her… for whom time stands empty as they wait in homes full of silence ….They are no longer coveted by a society addicted to youth …. [Doris] is alone, and it brings home the truth of this epidemic that we have on our hands—an epidemic of loneliness …. The most difficult part is that I don't know how to solve this, although I wish I could. For now, I simply retract my diagnoses. Sheepishly, I insist that Doris spends her Christmas this year on the ward, and I can see her mood lift. But as I steel myself for the inevitable influx of unwanted grandparents whom I know will arrive, I cannot help but wonder how it is that things could have gone so badly wrong.
How is it that things have gone so badly wrong? Of course a variety of factors come into play, but surely our independently minded culture, our lack of community, and our national tendency to withdraw from a faith community all contribute to this epidemic of loneliness. Add to that our self centeredness and you have a lot of lonely people. I wonder if Doris was a part of a church family. Would it make any difference?
We are at the very beginning of the Christmas season. My challenge is for us to make a difference in the life of someone else. Who are we missing in our church family? Who haven't we seen in a while? Who is separated from their family and in danger of falling prey to the epidemic of loneliness?
James 1:27 - Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Love in Jesus,
Pastor John
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