you are not alone
It’s Thursday again, and my morning went nothing like I had planned, in that going to the dentist 18 hours after getting a filling yesterday wasn’t on my list of things to do today. So here I am, at 11:44 am, starting a post I need to finish before I have to hop on a couple of meetings starting at 1:00 pm.
Let’s see how this goes…
I also wasn’t feeling inspired on any profound level a few moments ago, so I did something I’ve talked about before, and just got quiet and asked Jesus what he wanted me to write. Then I closed my eyes, put my chin in my hand, and waited for… less than a minute.
And here’s what I heard him say:
“You are not alone.”
As I sat still in that moment, I felt a overwhelming sense of tenderness for YOU, dear reader - and for myself - as we navigate such unprecedented challenges in our world. Not to mention the concerns we carry for our families, our friends, and our futures. It’s no wonder we’re all doing everything we can to cope with the chaos. But sometimes our best efforts can be counter-productive.
When life feels scary, it is only human to seek comfort in the things we can control. But this often pushes us away from what we need most: OTHER HUMANS.
The more we focus on what we can control, the busier and more isolated we tend to get. While this is always a negative equation, it matters even more when times get tough. If the world really does go to heck in a hand basket, a return to communal living amongst small “tribes” of people we are mutually known by and committed to may very well be our only hope.
Which begs the question: Who’s in your tribe?
Even if you’re like my husband, who doesn’t share my sometimes fatalistic views, you’d have to admit that being part of a tribe has been an important survival tactic for nearly all of human history. Yet for many people, being “alone together” on a Sunday morning is the closest you might get to true community. Many others don’t even have that.
Just because we’ve adapted to an individualistic lifestyle made possible by the advances of the past 100 years doesn’t mean it’s sustainable.
Which might be why you need to be reminded that you are not alone today. Even if it means there’s something you have to do to fully embrace that reality. For example…
Looking for a potential new friendship
Joining a life group at your church
Asking for help when you need it
Reaching out when you’re lonely
Inviting someone over for dinner
Venturing out of whatever “bubble” feels comfy…
Wait, you may be thinking, I thought you were going to tell us that we’re not alone because God is always with us.
And yes, HE IS, and we are never alone in that sense.
AND…
We are as alone in life as we choose to be.
That may sound a little reductionist, but the truth is we live in a big world full of lonely people who have the same needs we do - to be seen, to be known, to be loved, to be protected. And while not all of them will be our personal cup of tea, if we could just fumble our way toward each other, how much richer and more sustainable of an existence might we collectively share?
Breaking through to a deeper connection with people feels risky, I get that...
It takes time and intention and a willingness to show parts of ourselves to others who may prove to be unworthy of stewarding them. Which can give us excuses for running back into our control-based hidey-holes.
…but is IS how we’re meant to live.
God designed us for relationship. It’s literally how he lives his own life - if I can even call it that and not offend theologians. Which I may not be able to. So cancel me.
But if it’s true that the Creator of the Universe is communal in nature (which he is), who are we to think we can live any other way?
For TRUTH…
- cr
