Traveling Alone

Living by the spirit, heeding the inspirations that come, and even more importantly, following the way you discern, does not always result in joy, fellowship and community. It can lead one into a place of loneliness. And during such times, life can seem unusually hard, because we all treasure a friend who can understand and encourage.

I've rarely read anything to guide one through a time like this. Much has been written about "The Dark Night of the Soul".  But rarely have I read about the topic of loneliness, as though it is to be avoided at all costs, or perhaps as if it doesn't happen to good hearted souls.

But happen, it does. I suspect the topic is difficult to tackle. No one wants to learn that when you are most "down" you may even be most "alone".  No one likes to hear...time to bear up, yourself...give up hope for a friend, or even someone who understands. You must go forth on this journey in your doubts and confusion, and stop expecting understanding or even an ear. During such times, life may become darker than night. Because there is a lot we can bear, if we have someone to encourage. To go it alone, well, lets just say that is hard.

During such times it is important to keep the journey uppermost in mind. For it is often during our most "alone" hours that we learn of our weaknesses and our strengths. Continuing forward, believing solely because our faith tells us so, that requires us to reach down into our very depths for a faith, hope and trust we didn't know we had.

We talk about God as Trinity. But we forget, the journey to God involves quite a bit of loneliness as well. It isn't so much when we suffer it, but how we work through these times that changes us as a person.