Never Alone

Never Alone

Widows

Read: 1 Timothy 5:3-6

Irene slipped on her house shoes and padded down the hallway, chuckling. She couldn’t wait to tell Max about her crazy dream. Why hasn’t he made the coffee yet? Suddenly, it all came flooding back—the sudden heart attack, two days in the intensive-care ward, the memorial service just one week ago. Irene sank down at the table, thinking back over their sixty-nine years of marriage. She and Max had outlived their son, their siblings, and most of their friends. Now she’d lost her best friend and life partner. How could she go on without him?

In the Bible, God instructs his people to pay special attention to widows. As the early church ministered to women who had lost their husbands, Paul defined the true widows who were in need of the congregation’s support. These women were alone in the world, without children or grandchildren to care for them. If these widows served God and sought his help, the other believers owed them respect and support.

It’s always traumatic to lose someone with whom we have shared our lives. The loneliness is intensified when a widow has no children, family, or lifelong friends. It can be especially frightening for an elderly woman who was dependent on her husband in many ways. Other life experiences besides widowhood can also make us feel isolated—moving to a new area, dealing with an empty nest, or dealing with a serious illness, for example.

God understands all that we go through, including our feelings. Although he wants to comfort us, we have to receive his care through praying, reading his Word, and keeping our thoughts fixed on him. Our best cure for loneliness is spending time with the One who is always watching over us. We may feel lonely at times, but we are never really alone.

Your Creator will be your husband.

Isaiah 54:5