5 Valentine Ideas for Bridging Isolation and Restoring Hope
Valentine’s Day creates a season centered on love, but for many people, it only emphasizes the loneliness and isolation they live with all year. And with a year like last, isolation has been magnified.
Everywhere, people have struggled to keep hope alive, to understand that God has not abandoned them and to believe that God has a purpose for the hard things they have experienced. For families living with disability, these feelings have an extra edge. The good news is you can make a difference! Here are five ways you can restore hope and bridge the distance of isolation in your community.
1. Spread the love.
Everyone can use a little pick-me-up in February, especially families living with disabilities or individuals who have spent much of the last year isolated. So don’t keep your Valentine’s celebration just among the people you know well! Take the opportunity to encourage someone you haven’t talked to in a while as well as people in your community. Share something you appreciate about God at work in them.
2. Say a name.
Give a shout-out on social media. Dedicate a song on the radio. Tag a friend in a photo that brings good memories. Donate in their honor. Pray for them. Remind friends that even though they may feel unseen and isolated, you still “see” them.
3. Send a Thinking of You.
Share a quote, verse, or song by text, postcard, or singing telegram. Make the “Thinking of You” more tangible by sending flowers, a favorite book, or a gift certificate for a meal delivery service.
4. Encourage Conversation.
Start a video call. Pick up To-Go for a socially distanced picnic in the park. Set up a lawn chair on the other side of a window for a face-to-face phone call. Get past any awkwardness with meaningful conversation starters:
- What is one example of how you’ve experienced God’s love?
- Who has modeled love in a way that has helped you better understand God’s love?
- In the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 (read it together!), what aspects do you most appreciate right now?
5. Focus on the hearts that matter.
Valentine’s hearts will fade, but we can use this love-focused celebration to invest in the hearts that will matter for all eternity. Focus on the truth that “To love God with all your heart and mind and strength is very important. So is loving your neighbor as you love yourself. These things are more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices,” Mark 12:33 (NIrV).
Disability and Belonging
“When you’re not sure what to offer, your very presence can be a gift.”
Everyone needs community, a place to fully belong and share our gifts with others. But loneliness, especially exaggerated by the isolation of COVID-19, is one of the difficult realities that many adults with disabilities face.
