Reaching A Lonely Heart

God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.

Psalm 68:6

Over the years I’ve read the first two chapters of Genesis many times. Genesis means “beginning,” and everything God created in the beginning as told in Genesis was good. The heavens, earth, plants, sun, moon, stars, animals, man—all we see and breathe—it was all good. And then God said in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Wait—the first “not good”! Why the change? Because God made us for relationships with others and Himself.

When I stopped teaching school to be a stay-at-home mom, I was lonely for the very first time in my life. I missed interacting with other women. I spent consistent time with my sweet older friend across the street, whom we all called Grandma Hazel.

When I explained to Mark how I was feeling and asked if he thought there was something wrong with me, he assured me that I was just fine; I was adjusting to a different season in my life. Well, I do not know any woman who wants to be only just fine! I loved being a mom even though being on the baby’s routine kept me at home. But during my months of isolation, God came near. He helped me see my need for a deeper relationship with Christ. I began to think that if I had such intense feelings of loneliness while knowing Christ, what about women in the same situation without Him? How would they be able to get through?

And then God stirred my heart almost twenty years ago to invite women to our home the first Monday of each month as a simple outreach of a new church plant we were part of. And over the past nineteen years, God has faithfully brought new women into my life each month. Once again, God created something extremely good when I needed it most.

This week, why not invite someone to do something with you that you have already scheduled?