Home Alone

Just this past Thanksgiving I experienced something I had never felt before around a Thanksgiving table. We went to my in-laws for Thanksgiving and I’m expecting the same thing we do every year. The craziness of the kitchen being packed with the grandkids, parents and grandparents surrounding the table saying what they are thankful for and then digging in…but something was different this year. My father-in-law decided he wanted to invite some people to Thanksgiving that were not in the family. Two neighbors showed up just at time that the oven went off,  the rolls were done. We surrounded around the table and brought in chairs from the living room as a painter joined us and a sweet soul of lady joined us at the table with our family. The entire dinner was full of thankfulness, cheer, and love for one another and the Lord. I was so proud of my family that day, because as I got up to clear the table I knew that God had not left these people home alone. Their families were not there to spend Thanksgiving with them, but we had adopted them into our homes. God was taking care of their loneliness on such a special day, and he used us to provide a meal and love them! WOW!!

Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the Christmas story probably experienced deep loneliness when she found out that she would be the mother of the Son of God and that she was a virgin. How was she to explain to family and friends, how was she supposed to get through this, how was she going to answer all the questions. But because of Mary’s obedience to God, God did not leave Mary home alone.

Instead Mary, fled to see Elizabeth her cousin who was also miraculously pregnant in her old age. It was not a just a cool part of the Christmas story, it was SIGNIFICANT. Mary needed someone to talk with, someone to listen to her, someone who related to her situation. Elizabeth understood the miracle that God had givenher, and she understood the Miraculous work God was doing in Mary and for the World.

God will never leave you home alone. He will always give you people you can reach out to. The great thing about Thanksgiving that day was that the neighbors my father-in-law invited actually came, they wanted to be with people. Same thing for Mary, she spent 8-10 days on a journey to see Elizabeth, it was important for her to reach out to people.

Don’t shy away from reaching out to others when you feel the loneliness, instead grab the phone and call someone, and if you see someone who is experiencing deep loneliness reach out to them with kindness. God wants to use you, and he will never leave you HOME ALONE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!