Wake Up Call By Dr. Juan Harrison
Wake Up Call
Our quality of life seems like it can be boiled down to three elements: living with ourselves, living with others, and having a kind of spiritual foundation to give life some kind of direction. I’m fortunate to still have a living helpmate. In our Sunday school class and among our friends I’m a curious observer as their spouses pass, and they start to fight the battle of singlehood. It’s mostly women. If they’ve been wise, they’ve accumulated a few good friends and maybe a couple of close ones who may have already been down that road. If it’s a man, the sample is so small that it’s hard to make an accurate assessment of how they will fare on the new journey.
Loneliness can make cowards of us all. Having had a zillion lady customers since I was a boy lawn boy, most widows seemed to get a pretty good handle on things in a couple of years. Some widowers started dating fairly quickly; others became more isolated and tended to try to fight the battle alone.
Most women, the wiser ones, seemed to do pretty well once the initial pain began to ease as friends and family helped carry them forward on their journey. The handful of widowers who outlived their spouses seemed to take different routes as some sought company and others chose to fight the battle of loneliness alone.
I don’t think there’s one right or wrong way to face widowhood. Some folks are fortunate to have loving families who help keep them occupied. Others may not have close family relationships to lean on. Maybe they have developed strong friendships to help encourage them. Maybe they didn’t invest the time and energy in family and friends beforehand and now must reap what they sowed. Unlike Scrooge, they are unwilling or unable to alter the course of loneliness as reality sets in for the last leg of the journey.
For the lucky or blessed ones, their final phase of life’s journey doesn’t have to be marred by isolation and loneliness. They may be stronger and enjoy their own company. They may make the effort to rebuild or strengthen their relationship with family or old friends. Maybe they have hobbies they love or spend time volunteering helping others. And last but not least maybe they return to renew and rebuild a stronger personal relationship with a Lord who won’t mind a call at 2 AM on this 24-hour hotline. You’ve got a Friend.
By Dr. Juan Harrison
