The Request

The prayer request she made that Sunday morning during the service was simple, heartfelt, and challenging. She repeated it the next week, too…and the next. The invitation her plea held was just too much to pass up for one person in the congregation who heard it. Something had to be done.

Mary must be around 80 years old, has Parkinson’s disease, and slowly gets around on a walker. She lives at an assisted living home just around the corner from the church with about 11 other ladies who live with varying stages of health and awareness, many of whom are very lonely and have no family or friends who visit. Mary’s petition each of those Sundays was simply to ask for prayer for the residents and their need for interaction with others.

At the end of the service the first week, a friend talked to me about how someone should do something for these ladies at the home that Mary had such a burden for. The following week, she started talking about how she herself ought to do something. After the third time Mary’s request was shared, my friend started to formulate a plan.

What if she just went to visit for a half hour a week? Better yet, what if she gathered a few others and took them along to sing songs? Music has a way of connecting and communicating as little else does, and her plan was put into action. The weekly visits, then, spread to another affiliated home, and about four or five now gather each week to go sing, encourage, and love on these sweet people. The repertoire includes hymns, silly kid’s songs, and old favorites. It is incredible how even some residents with memory issues who don’t talk much otherwise can sing every word to a song. Beautiful, really.

​You know, it really doesn’t take much to have a positive impact on someone else. With Mary’s heart for those around her, God used her request to encouraged her fellow residents—through my friend, who is not only encouraging the lovely souls at the assisted living home, but also those who were inspired and invited to go along, too. What will this progression lead on to?

Quite often, the most meaningful things in life are the most simple. And the simplest things are the most appreciated. Who is it that sits among your circle of friends and acquaintances that could be blessed by the sharing of your time and abilities? Or even by your request for prayers and help? They are there—all around you. Be encouraged to not only see them, but to do something about what is needed. It will surely be a blessing.