In the book, Spiritual Friendship by Wesley Hill, he quotes from a friend of his, from his heart, about loneliness...have you ever felt this way? "Call it weakness, I just need to be needed, and not needed by a friend who closes the distance with a phone call, drive or flight. I need to be needed by a companion who is there when I return from work, there when I walk in the park, there when I prepare a meal for dinner, there when I read from a book out loud, there when I go to bed, there when I wake up,there when I cry or laugh, there when I am sick. In short, I desire a covenentnal relationship where my helper and I witness each other's 'moments of being' (Virginia Woolf's lovely expression), otherwise I dread the thought of having those moments forever unwitnessed. Sure, God witnesses my moments of being, but this is not enough. I need the face of God in a watchful and loving human face." (pp. 97-98 Wesley Hill in Spiritual Friendship)
How many times have I been somewhere, doing something, and not another soul on the earth whom I personally was acquainted with, had any knowledge of what I was doing? I have driven thousands of miles on road trips, alone. On one hand, I enjoy the freedom to go where I want and when, but how sweet it would be to share that with someone. How many times have I been to an event, experienced joy and beauty in that event, and then, home alone with no one to relive it. No one to talk about it. No one to remember that occasion with. Yes, God is there. He sees. He cares. But, yes, He made us for relationship, to experience joy and beauty in relationships. So, it is suffering. Suffering that we must endure, always with the help of Jesus, as we live in a world cursed by sin. Knowing, always, He helps us bear that load, and reminds us that, someday, all tears will be wiped away. All sorrow and suffering gone forever. We will be with Him. Complete in Him. Known as we are known. Joy will be complete.
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