‘Navigating the rollercoaster of chronic illness and ill health is a unique and often isolating experience.’ This was a comment I received recently from a lady who has had serious health issues from childhood.
Isolation is the opposite of what our God has as his pattern for a healthy local church, and yet many people remain hidden. Often as a result of ill health (visible or not), but also at times due to caring responsibilities, some of the Lord’s people are starved of fellowship through no fault of their own.
Those in the church are often quite good at responding to sudden emergencies – someone has a cancer diagnosis (terrible as that is, of course) or a broken limb or a child is taken to hospital. We perhaps visit and let the person or family know that they are in our thoughts and prayers and offer help.
