God created the Earth and everything in it, and He put Adam in charge. Apparently, the millions of animals had mates, but Adam did not have a mate. In Genesis 2:18, God said, "It is not good that man should be alone, I will make him a help mate for him."
And God created Eve, and we all know what happened next.
God didn't mean for us to be alone, and yet, because people are living longer than ever, they end up outliving their mates by eight to ten years and spend their old age alone.
In America, over fourteen million single seniors over the age of sixty-five live alone. In Canada, over seventeen million men and women over the age of sixty-five live alone. In a recent survey, seventy-one percent of Indigenous people say they are lonely.
The average woman lives fifteen years after losing her spouse; the average man only lives nine years after losing his spouse.
Sadly, people who live alone are seventy-seven times more likely to die from heart disease. Our hearts need love and companionship. Doctors say loneliness is as deadly as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day.
There have never been more ways to communicate and keep in touch, but people have never been so isolated. Our children no longer live close to us; they live in other states and other countries. They might call at Christmas, but more likely, they'll email us occasionally. If we say anything to them about not keeping in touch, they are surprised. They think a couple of emails a month is as good as a phone call or a visit . . . but it's not.
My daughter lives in Hawaii; my son lives in Australia. They live on the other side of the Earth. I don't think I will ever see them again; they are busy with their careers and families, and I'm unable to travel.
I have a friend who is an ex-boxer. He said he had been married twenty-one years, and I said that was nice. He said he'd had seven different wives; he'd been married to each wife three years.
He was handsome, funny, kind and thoughtful. It was easy to see why seven women had chosen to marry him. I haven't seen him lately; he might be married to wife number eight.
People think if they put their elderly mother or father into a nursing home that the parent will be taken care of, but their mom or dad will probably die-actually die-from loneliness. People need human companionship, they need to be touched, hugged, kissed, they need to talk, they need someone to listen. All their stories will be buried with them.
They matter, their stories matter, their lives mattered. They deserve more than being "stored away" like an extra table or chair you don't have room for. Being "cared for" isn't the same as being loved, being hugged and spending time with someone.
Young people are lonely, too. Young people talk to each other on phones or on their computers; very few hang out or play ball or go for walks.
Visit someone. Spend time with him or her. Listen to the same story he or she has told you twenty times. Smile. Laugh. Give a hug when you leave. It will mean the world to the person and you might have saved his or her life.
If you can't visit them, then call them. Ask them how they are and listen to them. The sound of your voice is better than music. Send the person a card that says you are thinking of them. Send them a letter.
People are dying from loneliness.
You could save a life today.
Crying Wind is the author of Crying Wind, My Searching Heart, When the Stars Danced, Thunder in Our Hearts, Lightning in Our Veins, and Stars in the Desert. This article is taken from the Council Fire daily devotional. You can order your copy by contacting us at Indian Life Ministries (IndianLife.org).
