Since the earliest, confusing days of the outbreak of coronavirus, one thing has been abundantly clear. Those who are 65 and older face the greatest risk of suffering and succumbing to the virulent effects of the virus.

As a result, health officials have taken extraordinary steps to try and minimize the elderly’s exposure and vulnerability. Repeated warnings – both spoken and put in print – have been followed up by practical action steps. Hospitals, nursing homes and other communities with seasoned citizens are isolating residents and patients and even prohibiting outside visitors from entering their facilities.

This renewed emphasis on and concern for seniors is a bright spot in an otherwise dark season of growing concern. The concentrated focus also stands in stark contrast to the way culture has all too often treated those in our population who are in the twilight of their lives.

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Rather than seeing them as expendable, forgettable and even irrelevant, society is rallying to protect older Americans and by doing so, acknowledging that every life, at every age and stage, is valuable and worthy of protection.

Hear! Hear!

My own father, who lived to be nearly 86, used to joke that “Getting old ain’t for the faint of heart.” I used to cringe when he’d tell me of impatient people yelling rude things at him in a parking lot as he took extra time with his car. Even some well-meaning caregivers at the end of his life would sometimes talk to him in childish tones, something that bothered him and broke my heart, little by little.

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Like most elderly people, my dad seemed to die by degrees. I knew he was growing more frail and fragile, but to me, he was always my strong and beloved father – the same man who’d toss me like a rag doll into the waves when I was a young boy or carry large pieces of lumber on his broad shoulders to and from his basement workshop as he made furniture on Saturday mornings in the summer.

I’m reminded of a poignant poem that was found in the possessions of an old woman in the geriatric ward of a hospital. It’s called “See Me." It reads, in part:

The body is crumbled, grace and vigor depart

There is now a stone where once I had a heart

But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells,

And now and again my battered heart swells.

I remember the joys, I remember the pain,

And I’m loving and living life over again,

I think of the years, all too few — gone too fast,

And accept the stark fact that nothing can last —

So open your eyes, nurses, open and see,

Not a crabby old woman, look closer, nurses — see ME!

Too many of us overlook our older citizens, reducing them to has-beens or relics from another era. It’s a foolish thing to do. There are buckets of untapped wisdom inside of them - knowledge and experience culled and forged from the fires of their life’s adventures, both good and bad. All we need to do is ask them.

My friend, Kay Owens, felt the call to begin ministering to the elderly after she saw how many of them were ignored in the same facility where she would regularly visit her aging parents. She discovered that across the country, nearly 85 percent of the elderly never receive a visit from anyone.

Buoyed by prayers and a dream and convicted by God’s call on her life, Kay launched Crossroads Ministries, a national nonprofit organization aimed at raising up teams of chaplains and volunteers to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of the elderly. I applaud her effort.

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In times of crisis, Americans historically rise to the challenge at hand, appealing, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, to “the better angels of our nature.” I believe this is happening again all across our great country. Look out for the elderly in your neighborhoods – offer to get groceries, medicine or meet any number of other needs they may have as they remain homebound.

America’s seniors face a tough road ahead with the COVID-19 pandemic, but thanks to renewed compassion and dedicated care of a culture who are recognizing the elderly’s inherent dignity and worth, they stand a fighting chance to survive this outbreak and deepen their contribution to the country.

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