Thinning Forests
My wife told me that it is my job to make sure she does not become a widow.
OK! I have no problem with that one!
I will do my absolute best to keep her happy in that regard. In return, I expect her to do the same, and by that I mean keep me from becoming a widower.
Why did we have this conversation?
I guess there is a point in one's life when one looks at the forest and notices the trees. What was once thick and overgrown, like a full head of hair covering the scalp, begins to let the light shine through. Some trees fall or are cut down and fewer and fewer remain.
Yes, I know it sounds morbid, but that's what life is about, isn't it?
I believe we need to recognize the truth of our mortality in order to make the most of the time we have. If that sounds like, "Eat, Drink and Be Merry," perhaps it is, but that isn't exactly what I mean.
To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion. - 1 Corinthians 7:8-9
In today's reading from the first letter of Paul to the members of the church in Corinth, Paul is trying to help people settle a curious conflict, the attraction between men and women.
I find it amusing that his advice is to avoid contact that could lead to sexual misconduct. Good advice, I guess, but how effective was it?
He must have known it wasn't enough to say that, so he added something else. If you can't control yourself, get married.
Does he mean the flame of passion will burn out once we get married?
Many a stand-up comedy routine has that idea as a theme, but I think Paul must have been afraid of women. He avoided them and claimed to be happier for it.
He did seem to long for companionship, though, and he found it in the friends he made throughout his travels. He even found a way to befriend the guards in his prison.
Being alone is not fun. It is depressing. We are made to be in the company of others.
Next week, we will be attending a fund raiser for SPRYE, a non-profit organization that helps people who live alone stay in their homes rather than enter assisted living facilities before they need to.
It is a great program and a key component is being a resource, providing transportation to doctors or hairdressers and other appointments on the one hand, and access to a list of trusted contractors and repairmen to address those maintenance issues homeowners face on the other.
With programs like SPRYE and Meals-On-Wheels, the lonely can be attended to. But is that enough?
We are all so busy, do we even think of those who aren't?
We pray for the widows and orphans, the lonely and the destitute, as if the words have no real meaning.
So, let's go back t the conversation my wife and I had last night. What we didn't say was, "Don't leave me alone."
Maybe that's what made me think of the lonely when I read Paul's funny advice. So, what do I do about it?
Perhaps I should call or stop by one of the lonely or widows or widowers, or call and invite them to lunch, before the next tree falls and the forest gets even thinner.