Last night I shared my story with a group of people to encourage them that our struggles can have purpose. At the end of the conversation one of the attendees said to me, “you talked about circles of love around you, but my family is gone, and I don’t have those circles.”
My heart broke.
This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last that I hear this. And what breaks my heart is that I know there are people ready to be this person’s circle of love & yet there this person sat, in a room full of people, feeling alone.
I share this with you today because there are people we may pass every day, or we are that person, who feels alone & that there aren’t circles of love around them.
I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.
As hard as this truth can be to hear, may we recognize there are people who feel this way; alone on a island. There may also be people who do have people around them yet who still feel alone. We may not know the truth of someone’s heart so why not do what we can do to shine a light of love into the hearts we pass today in case they may be hurting?
May we give that smile to the person we pass by, say hello to the person beside us in line, engage in a conversation with someone we see often but have not taken the time to be present with them, invite our neighbor over, remind loved ones that we love them and are thinking of them, & are here for them, if/when they ever need it, etc.
If you are the person feeling isolated & alone, please hold on to hope & reach out for help; whether it is to your local social services department, calling a warm line in your area to be able to talk with someone, stop by a local church/place of worship, etc.; know there are people who are ready your circles of love. It may be a hard first step to reach out but please do it.
May we also remember that God stands at the door of our hearts knocking, ready for us to invite Him in to be that inner circle of love for us every day. For when we do, no matter whether we are in a room with 100 people or by ourselves, by opening that door & growing that relationship, we can come to know, & trust, that we are truly never alone.
With love & hope,
Shawn