Loneliness

Loneliness

I live in a little community – where the cows outnumber the people, Where sunrises and sunsets fill the sky without views blocked by concrete and steel. Where the morning noise is full of roosters and trains, not cars and sirens.

During this winter storm of January 2026, my wife and I have been isolated more than normal. We stocked up for food and have binged Sci-Fi (me) and Rom-Coms (her). My kid is in Dallas-Fort Worth and they too have been in isolation, but they have two kids to keep them … engaged. In their words, the kids have made them a bit … insane.

I have enjoyed the vid-texts, the occasional face-time, and random updates. I also get texts and the calls from the church family. But I have hours of no contact at all. I look out the window and see solid ice covering the parking lot. The road that passes in front is still one to be ventured on only if necessary. It’s as VDOT says, “Oops, we forgot Cedar Tree Rd” and then they give us a pass by. 

Isolation and loneliness.

To be completely honest, I’ve lived in sprawling urban communities too (Dallas being the largest) and I have felt the isolation in apartment complexes that houses thousands. Noise doesn’t fill the isolation gap. Sometimes, it adds to it.

I perused the web for thoughts on loneliness:

• A result of sin
• An emptiness caused by the broken relationship we have God
• The emptiness that can only be filled by God (not marriage, not substitutes, not anything)
• A cause of pain

But we can also see loneliness in a positive way:

• A reminder of our sin, but also a reminder of God’s grace as He desires a relationship
• A creator of yearning for true relational intimacy, to be filled by God but also eased in the limited earthly relationships (even God-institued relationships)
• And a true catalyst for reminding us that God’s children have an eternity awaiting us with a completely restored relationship with Him … “He will be our God, we will be His people, and He will dwell in our midst!”

But what can we focus on today?

LONELINESS is not ISOLATION. We are not to be isolated. It is not good for man to be alone. 

LONELINESS acts like sensors in our car to tell us when something is missing — oil in the engine or air in the tires. We were made for God and for community with each other. So if your loneliness sensor is acting up, check your oil, take care of it.

A FIX for LONELINESS:

Cultivate relationships. Work out it. Don’t wait for relationships to fall in to your lap, get out there and work on them. This isn’t a promise that each relationship will end happily, but you’ve got to try.

Connect at a church. Church is a great place to find like minded family … imperfect yes, but so are you.

Serve Someone. Serving other help build meaningful social interactions and can help lessen the impact of those suffering from loneliness.

Keep your eyes on God. He is with us, never leaves us nor abandons us. He is forever with us.

Loneliness is real. But it doesn’t have to be the final word.