When You're Feeling Lonely

When we experience pain, struggle, and despair, we feel so terribly alone. Friends and family may offer comfort and help, but despite their best efforts, the ache of abandonment reverberates within us like the cry of the solitary wolf. We feel forsaken, left alone to navigate the landscape of despair, and yet unable to do so.

In the core of that aloneness there lives a hidden presence—a holy presence—that is with us even as we stand to face the terrors of our lives. That Divine Presence will be known to us if we will descend into the lonely core that feels so overwhelming and sit in silence. The Holy Companion will come as surely as the day dawns, and in the silence, the chaos will be stilled.

Let these questions help you enter your own loneliness and find there the face of God.

1. When I feel lonely, of what am I most afraid?
   
   
2. When has being alone been a gift?
   
   
3. What is the biggest obstacle to being alone with God?
   
   
4. When have I found that solitude has deepened my relationship with my soul?
   
   
5. When am I energized by people and when am I energized by being alone?
   
   
6. When loneliness looms large, what might the Holy One want to say to me?
   
   
7. How can I find the heart of heaven in my own soul?
   
   
8. When loneliness lifts, what do I most want to do?