The Friendship Series: Lonely No More

Lonely No More
Lonely.

The saddest word in the English language. And yet a companion for so many.

We can be lonely in crowds, we can be lonely at home, we can be lonely with a lover, we can be lonely alone.

There are few things as empty as feeling unknown, feeling unseen. That’s really the heart of the matter, isn’t it? It’s not about being with someone or being alone. Just as we can be quite lonely in a crowd, we can also be quite cozy on our own. True loneliness goes much deeper. True loneliness is feeling alone.

Coffee dates and a jam-packed calendar don’t equal union. True friendship, the antidote for loneliness, goes beneath the surface. It is the intermingling of ideas and minds, feelings and hearts, hopes and empathies.

True friendship is possible, within our reach. But it requires our active regard.

Today, let’s take a chance. Let’s listen a moment longer that we usually do, ask one more question that we usually ask, and take one step closer than we’d usually dare, clinging to this promise:

“God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity…” (New King James Version, Psalm 68:6)

Amen.