Homeschool Projects to Bless the Lonely
I recently read about research showing that feelings of isolation and rejection trigger responses in the brain that are similar to responses to physical pain. All of us who have had painful conversations that left us feeling like we got socked in the gut can identify with that research.
All of us probably know a lonely someone who feels isolated and rejected. Perhaps we see them walking their dogs in the park, hanging out in a coffee shop or library, or sitting two rows behind us at church. Unless we make an effort, we don’t see them in their apartments, houses, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities. And it is unlikely we will ever see them crying on their pillows morning and night
I don’t remember what kind of image I was searching for months ago when I came upon this Caterpillar Tractor Company advertisement in the July 21, 1951, issue of The Saturday Evening Post. In addition to being an encouragement to buy Caterpillar tractors, it was an encouragement for Americans to write letters to their loved ones fighting in the Korean War.
Advertisement for Caterpillar Tractor Company, 1951,
courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution,
National Postal Museum
The appeal that the ad made was so touching and convicting that I have typed it for you below. I am amazed at the insight of this advertising writer. As we read this, let’s think about people we know in the military but let’s also think about those other lonely people we know. And let’s not think only of letters, texts, messages, and emails we and our children can write. Let’s think about other ways we and our children can brighten the lives of lonely people who live far and near.
Now here’s that 1951 Caterpillar Tractor Company advertisement (with original italics). What a surprising place to find a lesson for our hearts and our homeschools.
Mail call means so much to him. You can’t know unless you’ve been there yourself. Back home, somebody sits down with a pen and begins, “Hi, Kid”—or, “My Son”—or, “Dear Superman”—or, “My Very Own Darling.” And then, not too much later, the guy with the big canvas pouch shows up, and your man—if he’s lucky—”goes home” for a little while.
Do you know what it’s like out there, with the familiar pattern of living broken, with friends and loved ones in another world? Whether he’s in combat, sweating it out at the rear, or in training back home, he’s been cut off. The monstrous monotony of fighting and waiting gives him the feel of having been forgotten. If you could watch his face some time when he doesn’t hear . . . when mail call passes him by . . .
But when word from you makes him feel remembered and wanted, that’s good. Maybe just the hometown paper, telling how Aunt Jenny took first prize with her strawberry jam. Or a box of something good to eat to share with a sidekick who wasn’t so lucky this time. And best of all a letter—the closeness and reassurance and belonging that the right kind of letter brings—that magic carpet trip back to Sheboygan, Brooklyn, Waterville, Four Corners.
Only you can put the magic in mail call. You mean to write often, but you’re busy—busy?—and sometimes you forget, or put it off. Don’t. And if you have no one in Service to write to, remember the men who have no one to hear from—and find out what you can do about it.
Homeschooling gives numerous ways to bless the lonely. A cooking project can be shared. A child’s drawing can become a gift. Handwriting practice can take the form of a letter.
Even more important than any of these are the gifts of time and genuine caring. We can turn a homeschool project into a gift, but we need to be careful that the recipient doesn’t feel like a project. After all, our objective is to bring closeness and reassurance, to make the recipient feel that closeness, reassurance, and belonging and that wonderful feeling of being wanted. One more thing: once is not enough. Our goal is to meet other people heart to heart with long-term commitment overflowing with love.
These are skills our children can use for a lifetime.
So, as those who have been chosen of God,
holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience . . .
Colossians 3:12