I hope you stayed warm during last week’s bitterly cold weather. I’m glad to see the snow. It makes the days brighter - even the ugliest weed sparkle.
January is the hardest month of the year for me. I’m sure you can relate. It’s a lonely, dark, and depressing month. Radio stations quit playing Christmas music. People take down their colorful outdoor lights. Christmas trees and bright, sparkling decorations are packed away. Advent wreathes and the light they cast disappears from churches. Everything looks dark and empty.
I have bipolar illness and struggle terribly in January. I battle daily with depression. I have to walk, use a light box, and schedule fun things to do with others so that I can stave off dark moods.
While attending West Fallowfield Township’s annual reorganization meeting on January 5, I learned forty percent of West Fallowfield Township’s residents are elderly. They might be alone during this long, dark, and quiet month.
So what can we do to help? We can ask ourselves: “Who is alone this month? Who is stuck inside because of snow and ice? Whose children and grandchildren live many miles away and won’t have visitors in January?”
Some people are afraid to go to church during winter because they might wreck their cars or fall on walkways or stairs.
Maybe you can drive a shut-in neighbor to church or the grocery store. How about bringing a hot meal to someone who is too sick to cook? Can you take a lonely friend to a high school basketball game or wrestling match? What about a movie?
Ask the Lord to lead you to these people so that you can show them kindness and attention this month. Remind them that they matter; they’re not invisible and alone.
I hope you have a happy week. Blessings!