Karen Jackson

As a member of the P.E.T.S (Pets Enrich the Soul) Ministry Team, I have the opportunity to accompany our team when we take animals to visit nursing home residents, many of whom have had to give up their own pets when they were admitted to the facility.

We have a wonderful group of dedicated team members, including some outside St. Luke, for whom this is their only connection with a church. We visit nursing homes on a regular basis, thus allowing us to build relationships with the residents, many of whom we know by name.

Animals bridge the gap, providing an easy starting point for interaction. We also have team members who come without animals and spend their time visiting with the residents. There have been so many touching moments including a wheelchair-bound woman who reminisced about the pet rabbits she’d had as a child as she held a bunny; the pure joy of a blind man petting a dog for the first time in years; a resident, who was able to pet a dog on her 100th birthday, and many residents who declare that they have been looking forward to our visit for days.

Recently, we visited a nursing home on the very day that one of the residents was moving in. She greeted us with tears, having had to leave behind her long-time pet cat. As she held Simba in her lap, she repeatedly thanked us for coming and begged us to return.

As you can imagine, many of the residents are in very poor physical health and may feel lonely, so we often pray with individual residents, reminding them of Christ’s love for them. The residents lovingly display pictures of themselves with our team and the animals – a constant reminder of our care and concern for them. The visits take so little of our time (about an hour a month), but the blessings for all involved are rich indeed.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity and privilege to act as the hands and feet of Christ to those who may be hurting and lonely. Thank you for the animals you have put in our lives and the comfort they bring. Thank you for the faithful service of the PETS Ministry Team members and their pets. Give us the eyes and heart of Christ so that we may see and love others as you see them and love them. Amen.

Read

1 John 3:11