Are you lonely? You're not alone! Part 1

Do you believe there is healing power in human connection in a sometimes lonely world? While visiting my son’s family in NYC, I embraced time to read, study, and write while they were at work. The view from their apartment was a window to a city millions of people call home and source that sparked stories to share with faithful readers who encourage me to keep writing. God stirred my heart to write good news stories in 2006 when my husband, Tim, was diagnosed with cancer. Being blessed with strong human connection through family and friends, our faith stayed strong even through tough days and lonely nights. Many readers understand as you recall family battles with sicknesses or other situations when human connection means so much but loneliness rears its ugly head without reason or rhyme.
So, I write this story from a lofty height with gratitude to God for giving me gifts of sharing every day and night with my older son’s family in our farmhouse and special visits with my younger son and his wife in their New York home high in the sky. Clint and I watch news as sunlight shimmers on skyscrapers as the city awakens with sounds much different than I hear each morning back home in N.C. News of tornadoes ripping through Tennessee, new cases of coronavirus in NY and NC, and results of Super Tuesday voting are continuous newsfeeds sending thoughts of human connection in a lonely world spiraling in my mind. Clint and I shopping last night for hand sanitizer to no avail; empty shelves proved this epidemic is spreading as people panic and those infected being isolated. What will happen in our world as we enter the second quarter of 2020? Only God knows! Trying to predict is futile but making sure our hearts and homes are prepared and we are closely connected to our good, good Father and family should be top priority for all God’s children in cities and communities across the world. No matter where we live, our lives can end instantly or from long illnesses. God’s healing power and human connections can make a positive, powerful difference in our lives no matter where we live. Prayers for survival here and eternity where God is soar higher than skyscrapers when our families are closely connected to our Creator. Firm faith is essential as we experience unthinkable endeavors that rock our world and reek loneliness from burrows to big cities!

A 2020 survey from health insurer Cigna found that 61% of American adults are lonely! Proposed solutions from our U.S. Surgeon General included: volunteering, scheduling time to connect with loved ones and even saying ‘hello’ to strangers. When we have emotional pain in our lives, we are going to seek to relieve it in some way. Do we reach for food, a friend, alcohol, or fall victim to feeling abandoned even invisible in a busy world where people who need people go to a place Dr. Suess wrote about: The Lonely Place! Paul’s words, ‘think on things that are lovely’ come to mind as many unlovely things prevail on the news and in ‘Oh, the Places We Go! I encourage us all to think on things we can change to make life lovlier and cease loneliness that can slowly creep into our lives. Be intentional about spending quality time together, not being ruled by phones and social media, and taking time to stop, be quiet, and get connected with the Lord and loved ones. The rest of the story that stirs within will be in the June 12th edition of The SI