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Thoughts for a Woman's Heart |
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encouragement in things that matter |
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Crowded Churches. Lonely People. |
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The blazing fire danced in the darkness while dozens of people mingled their laughter and their chatter with the crackling of the burning wood. The leftover aroma of fire-cooked sausages and hot dogs lingered in the chill of the evening. Children still damp from the ocean waves, kept warm as they romped and rolled in the sand. Wrapped in sweatshirts or blankets, the not so youthful, drew in closer to the fire. One sat alone. Listening. Chilled more in spirit than in body. Wanting to be part of all that was about her, and yet wanting too to just run. They were not new feelings. Sometimes she managed to sit on those feelings, and at least outwardly, enter into the interactions of the group. But for the most part, she felt different – very different. Her spirit was singed with her sense of inadequacy and failure as surely as if she had been scarred with a branding iron. Crowds of people, but her walls of protection closed her out to her loneliness. In church it was no different. An occasional "hello," behind-the-scenes ministry involvement that kept her busy, but unfulfilled, sitting in a pew and always looking straight ahead. Trying desperately to always do the right thing, and never quite feeling it measured up to the standards she was sure others set for her. Anguish in her soul, and a driving fear that kept it hidden.
Crowded churches. Lonely people. A paradox. A contradiction. An oxymoron. Call it what you please, but it happens. And it happens commonly – much more often than appropriate Christian community fully wants to acknowledge. I could address my words to the woman who is alone in her fear, and maybe they would encourage her for a brief time. I could attempt to explain her fear to those who sit around her. But, every story is different, although the loneliness is the same. So, what do I do? I would ask you to open your eyes – to see the one who is alone. So often her presence fades into the busyness around her, and our eyes are drawn to our own friends and families. Then I would ask you to open your mouth – speak the words that let someone know you’ve noticed them. More than just "hi" – maybe ask a question that says, "I really would like to get to know you." Then, open your heart. Listen. Really listen. Give her a safe place. An accepting place. A place that involves your time and your commitment. A loving place, even if you feel uncomfortable or inadequate yourself. A place that doesn’t judge – but invites. And then, and only then – open God’s Word to her. Share His promises, His truth, His walkable path of freedom. She will have already seen God alive in you. Maybe, just maybe, she will be able to grasp the reality of God for herself in a fresh, new way. Maybe, just maybe, she will no longer be lonely.
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— Bev |
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Readers are invited to respond to Bev by contacting her at WHeart@BethanyBibleFellowship.org. We are sorry that she cannot personally answer your emails, but she will try to address your questions and concerns in future articles. |
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