What's Your Contribution?

A colleague of mine watched a programme on TV last night titled "Eat or Heat", and she narrated to me what it was all about. This brought home to me the concerns I've always had for the elderly and their care, as they are at a vulnerable point in their lives and they need a lot of love and care. A lot of the elderly people they showed on the programme had to make the unenviable choice of either heating their homes or having some food to eat, hence the title "Eat or Heat". They could not afford to heat their homes and at the same time have some food to eat, as there is not enough money to do both. They showed an elderly lady who did not eat for three days because she had to pay for her heating and by doing this she could not afford to buy some food to eat. If she pays for heating she cannot afford to pay for eating. She said she'd rather go without food and have some heat in her home. There was another lady who suddenly had a stroke and fell down the stairs and could not do anything so she laid there for three days until the police came round! Imagine, she laid there for three days! My heart was broken to the point of tears. The thought that came to my mind is "what is our world coming to?" The family is so defragmented that nobody cares anymore. In the old days when either of our grandparents got old and they could no longer care for themselves, one of the family had to take them in. Can you imagine you getting old and not having anyone to care for you? I know, I know, you are probably thinking "but we all have to get on with our lives and we can't really help the situation". The thing is we can help to make the situation better. Think about it, what have you done today to help someone who is in need or more vulnerable than you are? If you have elderly neighbours, have you ever thought about paying them a visit and just saying a little "hello" or even helping out if you have a little time on your hands? We all have our pride and I would'nt want to trouble anyone if I was an elderly person myself but I'm sure they would appreciate some kind of love. Remember, they are not going to be there forever, so why don't you do what you can whilst you can and God will bless you. We are all going to get there one day and I would loathe to think that we would be in a needy position only to find that there is no one to help. We might be young today but we are surely going to get old one day! Reach out and touch someone today and make this world a better place. Put a smile on somebody's face today and somebody will put a smile on yours one day. God bless you as you make an effort to contribute to the lives of others.

(Written by Ladé, 2008 © All rights reserved.)