There they are in wheelchairs lined in the hallways slumped over looking down at their hands.  Occasionally, they will lift their head to smile at whomever walks past, hoping to catch their eye and have them stop to chat for a moment.

People rush by in a hurry hardly acknowledging their existence, fearing to make eye contact with these individuals that were once vital people in the community.  Now they are the often forgotten ones in nursing homes around the nation.  Whether they served our country by fighting in a war, or they served meals to their family day in and day out, they were the hands and feet going, doing, and giving at some point in their life.  Now they spend the rest of their days in this nursing home either bedridden or confined to their wheelchairs, looking at the same four walls day in and day out hoping someone, anyone would take up some time with them.

Through the years, I have visited with the residences of different nursing homes.  As a small child, I remember walking the halls with my grandmother as she would take us to see my great grandmother on certain Sundays of the month.  I hated seeing the people like that.  I would get so sad as we walked down the hall passing the rooms with the doors cracked where you could see right in at the once vital souls now alone in their rooms.  And then we would walk into my great grandma’s room where she would lay due to recovering from a broken hip from a fall.  She looked so small in that hospital bed that looked like it was about to swallow her whole.  We would walk slowly toward her to stand by her bedside, and within a few minutes she would sense that we were there and turn to give us the biggest, widest, most sincere smile as she tried to speak.

Her speech was broken now, and although she tried with all of her might to get the words out, half of it was audible.  Oh how it tugged at my heart to see her in this shape.  Yet, we would visit and bring a little bit of sunshine with us each time into my great grandmother’s life.

Fast forward many years later, I joined a gospel group where we would go around to the different nursing homes to sing.  Oh, I never forgot the way it felt when I’d go see my great grandma, and I remembered her each and every time I’d walk down the halls.  I can still see her smiling face today even though she’s been gone for years.

A few years ago, I went to work at a nursing home.  I would pass these precious people in the hallway every morning on my way to clock in and would once again feel the tug on my heart for these individuals.  Some would not have any visitors, while others had a multitude in and out throughout the week.  I would speak, and the all familiar smile would spread across their faces to know that someone took the time to acknowledge them.  They felt in that moment that they mattered again … because they did, and they still do.

As you’re gathering around with your friends and family this holiday season, would you consider going to visit those at the nursing home?  Maybe there’s someone in your family that you need to visit, or perhaps it’s someone that used to go to your church that would like a visit now.  Even strangers need to feel loved, and what better time to show that love and care than at Christmas?

Oh I know what you’re thinking.  You just can’t handle going in there and seeing them in this shape.  While it is not often pleasant, it can be the biggest blessing that your heart will receive if you just take the time with the often forgotten souls that now line the halls of the nursing home.

I’ll never forget when I sang with the gospel group and how this one little lady blessed my heart and soul so much.  When we started singing the old hymns that she grew up on, this little lady, sitting in her wheelchair so eloquently dressed with her jewelry, scarf, and wrapped up nicely in her Sunday best, started singing so sweetly and as loudly as her little voice would allow.  I watched this little lady come alive.  When she once sat quietly in the corner, she blossomed when the beautiful piano music floated through the air and tickled her ears.  When we began to sing those old familiar tunes, a wide smile formed across her lips and she perked right up, eyebrows raised, as she lifted her voice in song with us. I even took the microphone over to her at one point to give her a moment in the spotlight.  She was a blessing to me that day for sure, and each time we’d go back, I looked for this sweet little lady.

If you’re not sure how to go about scheduling a visit, call your local nursing home to speak to the activities director.  They will schedule a time and allow you to bring in instruments or even gifts for the residence, if that is your wish.

You can make a difference in someone’s life.