Galatians 5:13 states, “You, my brothers and sisters, were created to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather, serve one another humbly in love.”
This verse, along with many others, exemplifies how we, as believers, should be treating those around us, which is kindly and lovingly. When we share the love that Christ has shown us with others, He is pleased. It is our job to display care to others around us, and Students Serving Seniors is one of the greatest examples I have ever seen of this.
Students Serving Seniors is a club here at Union that travels once a month to a local assisted living home named Alexandria Place, where they meet with the residents there, spreading the gospel to them, as well as just visiting with them to let them know that someone cares about them.
“The whole purpose, really, is to just spend time with the seniors, hear their stories and to share with them the love of Christ, mainly by showing them that they’re not forgotten and that they really matter to us,” said Wade Showers, president of the club. “We pray with them and try to keep in mind the passage from James, which says that true and undefiled religion is this, to care for orphans and widows.”
Showers went on to describe how the club took that verse and applied it to “those forgotten,” which, to him, meant the seniors.
In today’s world, where everyone is moving as fast as they can, we often lose the things in our lives that have shaped us or the world in which we now reside. We forget to slow down and appreciate the things in life that are often easy to skim past, such as the elderly, who might not be able to keep up with the way life goes nowadays. When we do finally realize what or even whom we have forgotten, it may be too late.
Compared to a college-age student, the elderly have different problems that we may not realize or pick up on, so it may be harder to find those connections between the two. That is where Students Serving Seniors thrives. When asked, Showers described how, when they make the trips to Alexandria Place, they try to devote time to the individuals, not just the general group. He talked about how they bring in something to start a conversation and then spend 15-20 minutes with each resident talking and hearing what they have to say.
Behind it all, Showers focuses all of his intentionality on one singular quote.
“Preach the gospel always, and when necessary, use words.”
Most of the seniors at Alexandria Place are Christians,” Showers said. “They really love it when we pray for them, and they sometimes pray over us.”
When asked about the main headspace that one needs when going to talk with these seniors, Showers immediately brought up his faith. He talked of how the main thing that someone needs to do is just to live out the love that God shows us. He went on to describe how, by showing them love, the club is trying to build open hearts and relationships.
I was also able to sit down with Dona Kaci, a longtime member of the club, who was able to give great insight as to her personal experiences with the club.
“We try to meet the individual where they’re at,” Kaci said. “Some of their memory isn’t great, and they may forget stuff or they may have a certain background, so we try to communicate with them as who they are.”
Along with her helping the seniors, they, in turn, have helped her as well. She described how these interactions have made her a better communicator as well as given her more humility. She talked of how she has learned to be more aware of whom she is talking to specifically and then decide whether she should be more patient with them or maybe talking louder for them to be able to hear. Overall, she acknowledges that the seniors give her a lot of grace. If she gets ahead of herself or messes something up, they are always so appreciative and loving, which, in turn, helps her.
I ended my conversation with Kaci by asking how anyone not associated with the club could be praying for this club, to which she responded by asking for more bodies to do the work. The club wants to send more people so that they can spend more time with every individual without worrying about having to make enough time to see everyone there. She also mentioned the seniors themselves and that we could pray for their comfort and their salvation.
Between both conversations with both Showers and Kaci, I learned much about the club, but just more about what being a true believer looks like as well. One of our jobs here on Earth is to love others like Christ, no matter the circumstance, which I feel Students Serving Seniors does absolutely beautifully. In a world of fast-moving parts and always having to be on the go, Students Serving Seniors finds the time to actually hit the brakes on life and appreciate it for what it is, cultivating relationships and spreading the love of Christ along the way.
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