WATCHWORD:
9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Meditation:
Together or Apart
Some time ago I read a devotional on Our Daily Bread, entitled ‘The Saddest Goose’. Geese, you may know, are social critters, they have partners for life, and they live in a flight of fellow geese. I’m sure you’ve seen them gather, sometimes in the most nuisance kind of ways. Watch where you step!
The ODB author spoke about human beings being created for community, as well. In the Ecclesiastical reading, Solomon describes how vulnerable we are when we are alone. For many of the readers of these Watchwords, you are blessed to have a spouse, a partner, your children and grandchildren enrich your lives. Blessings beyond measure…most of the time.
How does one live as a solo, a single, separated from the grounding that loved ones give to your life? How do you love from afar? How do you hold that one, the one you hold dear, when you are alone and dealing with a hardship, an illness, where separation is like a wall? How do you love from afar?
The simple answer is, it’s easy! And it’s hard, painfully hard. Both those things, at the same time, all the time. Often our creativity kicks in or tasks delayed get done, or we have time for thinking, praying, gathering yourself. But, guess, what? We are fully equipped to handle the juggling required, to be adapt. Being on our own, Easy/Hard, sides of the same coin, blessings beyond measure! And yet, I have found that there is pain in being alone, then our Lord takes our hand.
Over the span of isolation during the course of the recent pandemic, I had been privileged to speak to many, and in the course of those contacts, you answered the question: At core, what got you through this time of restricted freedom, and limited access to the familiar?
The common denominator, whether alone or with loved ones? Our faith. The Presence of the Lord in our lives. The inner life and the outer life. The meditations, prayers, thoughtful spiritual readings. The loving interaction with soul mates, the Zooming, voice messages, face-timing and the admiring of God’s world just outside your window. All constitute a ‘new normal’ that is neither new, nor is it normal.
For some of you, all of those activities shielded you from loneliness, for a time. Then the separation from those external contacts that were part of your comfort zone, now gone, just beyond the window. Early on, that caused stress, and time slowed, and thoughts about the future were dark, and filled with question marks. But, then…
One of you observed: “This was not a choice we made, it was forced on us and it was awful at the start. I thought my spirit would break, then, my faith kicked in! I don’t how else to put it, I was drawn to my Lord, and suddenly I was alive with the awareness that Christ was in my life and it was real. It was not a cure-all, but the conviction that I was not alone has made such a difference.”
The easy part? We believe! The hard part? We believe!
We were never meant to fly solo, and, in truth, none of us are. Not by any stretch, we are not geese! Not really. May we all be fully aware of His Presence, together or apart. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
A friend of these devotionals commented: Thanks for “Watchwords”. I especially feel the closing prayers, and the phrase about “a day of ordinary miracles”. When I go to bed at night, and my legs are tired – sometimes so much that they ache – and as I wake up in the morning, sometimes the ache is gone! “Ordinary miracles” that we often overlook. But that’s just the start of daily miracles. True?
Closing Prayer:
Lord, you are the wind in my sails. You guide me as I steer and find direction. You give me the strength to keep on going. You watch over me as I navigate stormy seas. You are the harbor where I stop for a rest. You are my encourager when I lose hope. You are the lighthouse that keeps my path safe. You are with me always. Thank you, My Lord and Savior. Amen.
