“I feel so alone.” This is what I hear almost every time we deliver a Resilience care box. That empty, dark feeling of loneliness is like a crushing weight. The holidays can
magnify that loneliness. This week, after we delivered a box to a precious angel who was fighting a terminal diagnosis, she began sobbing before we walked through her door. “You gave this to me, and you don’t even know me? Why would you do that?” Connection. That is where we started, and now Lisa Bain Ministries continues that mission of care with connection. I assured her she was loved and not alone on this journey. After spending time with this woman and her children, we prayed that her loneliness would be replaced with hope and peace. Her strength and her presence touched me, and her story made a difference in my life that night. I know her story will help make the journey easier for someone else who is walking that same path.
When Mom and I received our diagnoses of cancer and autoimmune disease, the road ahead looked bleak and daunting. It felt like we were in a tunnel, and the surrounding voices were echoing. We felt isolated, even when we were surrounded by people. When we would spend our days at chemo treatments, it was a beautiful release when someone talked to us about something other than cancer. It felt normal again, and for five minutes we could forget about cancer. Sometimes we needed that five minutes to get us through chemo and feel hopeful again. It made us passionate about providing five minutes for someone else. Five minutes of wholeness in a broken place. Connection is about being the hands and feet of Jesus, but often, it changes the giver and the receiver. Mom reminded me often that the journey we were on would bring purpose and help my body defy the odds in the battle with autoimmune disease. She was right. When we choose to connect and give, we find purpose and courage as we take the next step out of our comfort zone. And miracles are waiting on the other side! The Resilience care boxes that are packed in my car, ready to be delivered today, represent so many hands and feet of Jesus. People who want to care with connection have poured their creativity and skills into the items we deliver. Their stories of walking through brokenness are in these boxes, ready to bless the recipients. Our prayer is that we can bring at least five minutes of normal, wholeness, hope, and connection.
As we prepared to leave our visit with this courageous woman, I asked what I could do for her. She replied, “You already did it. You showed up. You didn’t preach to me or tell me all the things I’ve done wrong. You simply showed up and cared about me and my kids. That’s the biggest gift we have ever received, and for the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful.” I drove away with tears in my eyes, realizing that sometimes the biggest gift is simply to show up.
It’s easy to feel insignificant, and to believe that we can never do or be enough. We want to help but tell ourselves we couldn’t possibly make a difference in a big, hurting world. We become complacent when we think we can’t change everything at once, but the miracles happen when we choose to reject that lie. It begins with one person who chooses to be present, knowing that their presence can bring hope again. If you can’t be there in person, lift up a prayer, send a note, an email, or make a phone call to let someone know they aren’t walking alone. That’s care with connection. Serving others is the reason I have been able to defy the prognosis doctors gave me years ago. Mom knew that’s the way it would turn out. It all begins with the serve, and even the smallest act of kindness can turn darkness into light for someone. Care with connection defeats the lonely places in our journey and reminds us that we can walk through the brokenness together.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.