The 40 Day Fast: How To Be A Rockstar

Posted on 07.08.08 in The 40 Day Fast and there are

(It’s my day for The 40 Day Fast. My team blogger today is Mark. Check out his post here.)
Have you ever wanted to be a rockstar?

To walk into a room and have all eyes on you?

To have people eagerly await your arrival?

To have a mere touch of your hand be the highlight of someone’s day?

My kids and I are rockstars every Friday at 10:00am.

That’s when a friend and I take our kids to a local nursing home.

Between us we have 7 children, most of whom are under the age of six. It’s crazy. It’s like herding cats. Except harder.

But the kids love to go. They sing songs and quote their memory verses. They hug and jump and play and pretty much just act like the immensely adorable children that they are.

My friend and I smile at people, hug them and talk to them. It’s simple.

It’s amazing to talk to people who lived during WWII and the depression. They outdate Twitter, the internet and computers. They’ve fallen in love, married, raised children, started businesses, led Bible Studies, worked for 50 years, then they retired.

And now this.

“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.” - Mother Teresa

They’ve given their lives to lay the foundation on which we build our lives. Visiting them for a few minutes is the least I can do.

Yes, sometimes it’s awkward or uncomfortable. But comfort is the enemy of change.

And I want to change. I want to love people until it hurts and teach my kids to do the same.

Mother Teresa said, “I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”

So every Friday, I’m going to love on some people. People who have lived long and lived well. People who need to know that they are desperately loved by their Heavenly Father.

My Organization

The organization I would like to highlight is the Yellow Pages.

Check it out! It’s really cool! You can open the Yellow Pages and look up the phrase “nursing home” and they give you a huge list of places that you can choose from!

I’ll bet there is one within 10 minutes from where you live, work or worship.

Look it up. I’ll wait.

(Da dee da dum dum dum dum....)

Found it? Great!

Now, pick a day in the next week when you’ll drive by there. Then pick a date when you’ll stop by to ask about visiting a resident. Then pick another date when you’ll spend 30 minutes visiting.

You’re not getting married or joining the army. You don’t have to commit for the rest of your life. Just because I don’t want to be a surrogate grandchild doesn’t mean that I can’t visit once and make today brighter for someone.

If we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus we can’t do that by only giving our money away to those in need. We must give our lives too.

The Comments:

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YOU GO GIRL!!!

I visited Doris for a long time in college.  It started out as a required student ministry, but I kept visiting when the requirement was done.

Seriously, if you are intimidated the first time, bring a friend.  A friend went with me my first time and that made all the difference.

I should do this again.  Find another Doris.  Thanks, Kat, for the reminder.

Kat,

Growing up, I used to do this every Sunday with my youth group.  It was always the hardest part of my week to make myself go, but loving on older people always drew me so deeply into God’s love for those around me.  Mother Teresa’s right: Painful love removes pain.  Sometime in the next week, I’m going to go.  Maybe people from my LG will come, too.

Yours in Christ,
Chris Livingstone.

(Da dee da dum dum dum dum....)

Okay, I think I’ve found one.  Thanks for the reminder, Kat.  We should be doing something like this with our kids.  I spent 5 years in college leading a group every Monday night to a nursing home to sing and chat, but I’ve not taken the time since then to keep up the practice. I should.

What a great idea!  When I was little, my brother and I had a weekly ‘date’ with a lady named Anita at a nursing home in our neighborhood.  I loved it and haven’t thought of that in years.  This would be a great thing to do with my children too--thanks for the reminder!

Kat, you’re so right on. My wife and I actually had some of our first unofficial “dates” doing ministry time at nursing homes. The looks on the faces of some of those precious people were enough to brighten your whole week.

I haven’t visited a senior care center in a while so I think I’m going to plan a visit with my wife and two girls. Thanks for the reminder.

I love your closing statement.  Thanks for that reminder.

This is such a good idea!  And I love those quotes from Mother Teresa.  Thanks for posting!

Wow, that brings back memories.  My mom used to make me go with a group when I was a kid.  It smelled bad, the “crazy” ones scared me, I pretty much hated it.  Then I made a friend. 

About 10 years ago I went to a lady’s room at one of these homes.  You could hear her yell, “somebody help me!” She alternate the focus on each word in increments of three.  “SOMEbody help me.  Somebody HELP me.  Somebody help ME.”

SO went in there and asked what I could do to help her. “Well, I’m not sure.  I’ve been saying it so long I forgot what I wanted.”

Everday I went in there every day for a week.  She had Alzhiemers and each day she had a new friend. We would pray, sing “Amazing Grace” and talk about her husband.  Good times for both of us.

The wisdom these people have is a treasure we all need.

Great post, Kat.  Praying for you today!

Good stuff,Kat. Thanks!

Absolutely fantastic Kat!!  Thanks for reminding me that the solutions aren’t only in my wallet, but I need to get off my butt and do something also!!

I really really tried to get in a comment earlier to encourage you, but my browser crashed and I had to rush off to the dentist.  Anyway, be encouraged - you are not alone.

If there were any nursing homes with English speaking residents anywhere near here then we’d be round there drinking tea and singing.

My only experience was when I was eighteen and working at a Christian conference centre with a nursing home in the grounds.  We would go round to hang out with the residents and sing them some hymns.  There was one old lady who always asked for “abide with me” and then every week would burst into floods of tears because they sang it at her husband’s funeral.  It’s hard to recover a cheerful mood after that!

That is so great that you and your kids do this.  I used to work in nursing homes, and the people just eat up conversation and attention.  A lot of the times we were so understaffed that we didn’t have sufficient time to spend with them, so some of us would take our breaks, and sit and chat with them. They have some of the best stories. 

Love the quote, it’s very fitting.

My Grama has been in a nursing home here for 3 years now. It was the hardest thing for her and for us as a family to have to do. She was 81 at the time. She had had a mini-stroke and could not take care of herself anymore. I visit her three times a week so she doesn’t get lonely. I love her but sometimes it is the longest part of my week. She can’t talk, can write but not in full sentences. Has hearing aids but those are maxed out. But she loves Jesus and still has a sharp mind so for that we carry on. There are quite a cast of characters at her place that I have gotten to know over the years. You have a captive audience so it is the perfect place to witness. There is a church that I used to attend across the street that does a service there each Sunday for the residents. She is able to go and attend her own church through friends. She misses the freedom but at the same time likes the routine and goes crazy if you stray from it. Thanks for letting me share!

I think it is awesome that you listed the Yellow Pages as the organization you wanted to highlight. One more example of how we can just love people, very cool Kat.

What a great idea!

yay.

yes...i KNOW i am to do this. God had been pullin on my heart to do it.  i just kept puttin it off cuz i figured i would have to commit to doing it every Tuesday...or something.
i lead such an erratic paced life.

thanks for breakin it down for me.

i did a “driveby” last week.  i was out running errands and took a wrong turn and as i passed by this little old nursing home with very few cars in the lot and i think it was God’s voice that said..."there you go..thats the one”

so...perhaps by next week i will go visit and see who i can meet.
i dont have to commit to weekly…
i dont have to commit....i just have to go and smile and love.

Clicked over here from Annie’s 40 Day Fast post--HEART--and I think the Lord is using you guys to confirm a growing conviction that started as I read Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson (fiction with a powerful message). 
Great post.
Thanks.

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