 
And the Lord
said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make
him an help meet for him.
Genesis 2:18
An elderly
woman sits in her room in the nursing home reading six-month
old magazines. She turns eighty today but doesn't expect a big
celebration. She has no family and her friends died a long
time ago. A nurse peeks her head in the door to say, "Happy
birthday, Alice." That will be the only recognition of her
birthday today.
The prisoner hears the guard announce
the start of visiting hours. While the other prisoners head to
the visiting room, he stays in his cell. He knows that no
visitors will be waiting to see him. No loved ones to
encourage him. No friends to say they pray for him. So, he
shuffles his deck of cards to play his twentieth game of
Solitaire for the day.
A young man in his twenties
arrives home from church. He enters his empty apartment and
lays his Bible on the coffee table. He listens to some music
as he puts a burrito in the microwave. Later, as he eats the
cheap burrito, he thinks of all the families in church that
are probably getting ready to share a meal of chicken and
mashed potatoes.
Loneliness. One of the most awful
feelings in the world. It can drive people to the pits of
despair. It can push them into the depths of a bottle of
booze. It can thrust them into another one-night
stand.
The lonely wait for someone to care. For someone
to listen to their hopes and dreams. For someone to share a
Saturday stroll in the park. For someone to lend a shoulder
for their tears. For someone to be there when times get
tough.
You can find the lonely anywhere. In nursing
homes. Prisons. City parks. And even in a crowded
room.
The cure to loneliness is for someone to take a
risk and love the lonely.
Can we put aside our plans
for a day and visit the local nursing home? Can we stop at the
florist nearby and buy some daisies for a lonely old lady? Can
we be brave enough to ask a nursing home supervisor which
residents have no family and then spend an hour playing
checkers with one of them?
Can we visit a prison and
spend some time praying with a man that may die behind those
cold, steel bars? Can we look beyond his crimes and see a
heart that God loves just as much as ours?
Can we open
our homes to a single young man for a chicken meal after
church? Can we welcome him into our family and listen as he
shares his struggles?
Can we love the
lonely?
(If this devotional has blessed you, please
pass it on.)
From a fellow traveler just passing
through,
Jason Mitchener
http://www.JasonMitchener.com
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