Disabled and lonely - advice?
Disabled & lonely
Q: Recently I feel like my life has been spiraling out of control. I'm blessed but I'm lonely, and I desperately want genuine godly girlfriends in my life. I hate feeling so needy but I'm disabled and home a lot. I could use support, prayer, and friends.
A: God wants you to be around othets and to have godly friends. Are you a member of a local bible church? 💒
Have you called the Pastor for counsel on these issues for guidance?
*The church will help include you, and if not able bodied, can even help make sure you can get to events, activities and worship. You can make friends at Sunday School, bible study meetings, home fellowships, and at church through serving and other activities.
If you don't have a church you can find one here. *Ask how & what ministries or offers they have to accommodate disabilities if you are wheelchair bound or use crutches.
*not every church has a dedicated disabled ministry but they do care about everyone equally.
Our church has a disabled ministry and are loved on like everyone else.
Disabled non-able bodied people can and do live full lives and do not need to be home bound.
Here is a disabled lady active at a bible church
David Miller Pastors a church & ministry. Peroneal muscular atrophy bound him to a wheelchair. While the disability does not stop him, it limites the use of his legs, arms.
Joni Tada can't use her arms and is wheelchair bound (due to a diving accident). She speaks, paints, and lives an active life.
Nick V has no arms and legs, he travels, is an inspiration to millions. He is a preacher and motivational speaker. *I met him randomly just before Covid; he came in to eat at a tiny eatery where we were 😀. He has a wife & kids.
There's no limits today to disabled's living a full life, even those who live as Steven Hawkings did unable to talk or move except his fingers.
Group Chats & Active in Church
One tip I do have for you if you are not able bodied in some way or wheelchair bound, go to as many church meet ups, studies, fellowships, gatherings, gender based groups (womens group/mens group), and even be involved in the outreach group. Stay up to date on what goings on, add yourself to activity sign ups. Add people to your contacts. Create text chat groups and Facebook messenger chat groups with varied people. You might have one for the ladies, the singles, for the active women at church (such as who serve & handle the sign ups), one for those who are leaders (of all the above places where people go do things at, and attend studies, or lead groups), one for the women's mission group and one for those who do outreach (many want to go out with a buddy but can't find anyone to go or timings don't work out. If you are avail or ping the chat group to make spontaneous or loose plans, you can bless the members who want someone to go with), or even befriend those who want a friend; there are many in the church among women.
If you can type or use computer programs you could help create the bulletins, create digital illustrative artwork for events, do digital designs for varied needs, etc.
If a family has an emergency, and needs a place for the kids or teens (you determine the age range) to stay temporarily [before bed hours], make your home open to the members families to call and send them over.
You can make calls to the shut in members, go visit them & cheer them up, go to elderly home centers and be a blessing to them (give them your ear, read Scripture to those with failing eyes, make sure their phone or audio device is charged up if theyre hearing able, pray for them, sing with them, etc).
If your arms work, you can additionally write letters for them, help them make a phone call, etc.
At church if wheel chair bound and arms work: there's lots of things you can help serve God and the brethren at church with particular varied things (from paper stuff, to setting up tableware, to blowing up balloons, to sorting art craft packets, to wheeling a young child to their class or to a parent, to creating visual content in varied ways, handing out bulletins, maybe helping gather prayer requests from Sunday Classes and passing it on to whoevers in charge of adding them to the church enewsletter. Etc).
You could also help organize events, and even help with cashier duties at yardsales, or greet people who come to events and conferences at your church. You could work at the welcome booth there and even at your Church welcome booth for visitors. And be an encourager to children and teens wheelchairbound.
If the church has vbs or awana type gatherings for kids, you could go and be a bible verse hearer (the kids memorize verses, and need an adult to say the verse, to get rewards).
You could print off color pages for the kids (up to age 12) for during worship [one thats is related to their Sunday school class lesson and one for the Sermon] so they hear and see something related and might learn something; seed planting Scripture into their lives. For the 8 to 12 year old You could add another page that points to who God is, such as Comforter, Friend etc to teach about His Attributes. And you could add a color page of bubbled like verses words where they can creatively color those in. And if they show it to you after service you can put a star sticker on the page, after they read the verse to you 😊. Plus, investing in their lives in simple ways, will blossom as these congregants will grow up thinking of you, praying for you, and blessing you. And while youre investing in the spiritual the eternal some residual blessing will fall on you here on earth too among these people who will grow to love and appreciate you.
There's loads of ways to be involved in the church. Think about how God gifted you, and if you arent sure go meet the Pastor so he can help you figure out what your gifting are, and start from there.
God can use you and you can make good friendships that last into eternity.
God bless 😊
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