“Pearson is a lonely place” were words recently shared by Officer colleagues on route to their new appointment.  During these days the airport is quite empty and so are the skies.  Air travel has been slowed drastically.  Closed borders and travel restrictions have limited the possibility for some of seeing family, and others, from seeing friends.  Perhaps the phrase, “distance makes the heart grow fonder” is not one that brings comfort during these days.

A noted concern, even prior to the pandemic, is loneliness. Research has shown that loneliness has a significant impact on health both physically and mentally.  A few years ago, I was struck by a headline. In the National Post, February 17, 2018 an article featured was, ‘Disconnected’.  It began with the phrase, “My name is Hadiya.  And sometimes I feel lonely.” The author confesses right away that she was not sure whether to include that first line in her article.  The article goes on to express how even the people who know her best would never consider this to be an issue in her life. 

The airport is lonely.  The skies are lonely.  People are lonely. Are you lonely?  Do you know someone who is lonely? 

Anthony Hoekema says, “The human person is not an isolated being who is complete in himself or herself, but he or she is a being who needs the fellowship of others, who is not complete apart from others.” God’s design from the beginning was community – community with God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and community with others.  In Psalm 68:6 we read that “God sets the lonely in families.”  This family is not a nuclear family.  This family is diverse in that it crosses culture and life experiences, it is formed regardless of status and economical standing. This family is the family of God.

When the experience of loneliness is not ours, we may forget that there are those who are lonely. We may have our nuclear family, or our friend group, but the Lord reminds us “I set the lonely in families.”  There are those who need to be ‘set’ into our families even today.  Social distancing makes this more difficult but not impossible.  It begins with choosing to be aware, and then it means picking up the telephone.  It may mean a socially distanced coffee or a picnic lunch.  It is not just the ‘not lonely’ reaching out, it also means the ‘lonely’ reaching out. I know that this carries notable challenges, but it also carries rich blessings.  The Bible reminds us, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”  Through Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can know the goodness of community and seek to live in its goodness. We belong together.

It is a joy to sing/say words that become a prayer for our living.  Today we are called to not only pray these words, but to respond.  We extend our lives to one another so that together we can be set into the family of God as he has designed.

 815: Help Us To Help Each Other, Lord (updated lyrics)

1. Help us to help each other, Lord,
each other's load to bear;
that all may live in true accord,
our joys and pains to share.

2. Help us to build each other up,
your strength within us prove;
increase our faith, confirm our hope,
and fill us with your love.

3 Together make us free indeed
your life within us show;
and into you, our living head,
let us in all things grow.

4 Drawn by the magnet of your love
we find our hearts made new:
nearer each other let us move,
and nearer still to you.

AMEN

With care and in prayer,