Alone

Loneliness happens to us all. Major events create a void often, a move, death, divorce, separation. Even adult children leaving to a new life or the five year old leaving for school all day can cause that alone feeling. Any change to the routine of our lives brings the unsettled adjustment. Wrong decisions that interrupt peace also bring loneliness. Everyone of us fights loneliness. Sometimes to the point of making very unwise decision.

Well fear no more. God offers the answer to this pain. He fills the void. He is the answer.


I can point to many moments of loneliness. Some came as I've mentioned. I remember when my children left for school. I cried. Just recently my adult children have decided to move farther away from me and that empty feeling came again. But the biggest moments of loneliness came three times, times when I felt like someone punched me in the stomach and knocked the breath out of me.

The first time came when I was as a child, age six. I took a trip with my Aunt May. I loved being with her and looked forward to the event. The second day in I experienced what is called home sick. The empty, lost, where is home pain hit. Knowledge of where home was and that I'd be there again fixed the problem. Once you over come that one, it never visits again.


The second moment happened in my 20's. I'd married and left the state. No friends, no connections. The empty, lost, where is home came again. Church became a part of my life and we eventually made friends but it never felt the same...home. I now became responsible to create my own home, my own life.


The third came in my 50's. Divorce broke into that home I created. Everything lost meaning. Possessions meant nothing. My children were on their way to new lives and I felt alone, empty, lost, where is home? It was with me all the time, for home is Christ.

Practical ways to overcome loneliness.

Practice the presence of Christ: Talk to Him. Listen to His voice. Know He is in your house, at your job. Walk with Him. Enjoy His presence. Worship Him.

In all your ways acknowledge Him: Submit to His will. Involve yourself in His life and goals. Respond to His direction.

Let His love flow through you: Let Him love you then release that love to the world around you. It turns out that life is not about us. It is about Him and His life inside us. Begin to meet the need He calls you to meet and discover you ministry to others.

Loneliness is that empty, lost, where is home feeling. The answer?

Christ finds the lost
Christ fills the empty heart
Christ is home.