You are not truly alone.
This is a truth we must tell ourselves daily, hourly, moment by precious moment.
You are not truly alone.
No, You're not lonely, but thank you for asking.
And no, you don't want to be with people 24/7.
This isn't the alone-liness that we fight off so unceasingly.
This isn't the kind we're used to.
It is not fixed by a coffee date or two.
And simple ignorance of the symptoms will not do.
It is not that easily mended.
You are not that easily mended.
You are not truly alone.
It's an aloneness you feel when someone says, "I really care about such and such."
And your only thought is, I care nothing for such and such.
But you say, "Oh I love that as well!"
Because maybe you must love that, or you're the odd one.
Because it's probably better to fit in than to tell the truth.
Because your opinion or feeling must be wrong,
Since no one else disagrees, you must just not be right.
You are not truly alone.
While they would rather mindlessly scroll, you would rather deeply engage.
Most long for bed, you long for awakening adventure.
Others talk of the weather, and your thoughts on the rain
Aren't about it's length or duration, but it's depth.
How it makes one feel like befriending a stranger,
Or how it falls on us all, like the grace we sing about.
You are not truly alone.
You didn't notice their new shoes or new hair,
But you did notice how they treated their waiter.
You felt it when they spoke too harshly,
But you didn't say anything, because you're probably being weird again.
You've got to stop doing that, you know.
You are not truly alone.
While they would rather stare at their handheld prisons,
You would rather have an awkward conversation
With anyone and feel completely ridiculous yet alive
Than remain hidden behind a screen that gets more
Touch than most of us get in a lifetime.
Because you just want to feel.
Even if it's awkward, and it probably will be,
You'd rather know you're alive to another
Human being that's actually present,
Than get all the "likes" from "friends" that just kept on scrolling.
You know you're more than a picture and a name
With something quippy or witty to say,
You know that you deserve more than a "like"
Or even a "love" delivered through space.
And while they feel good for a second,
The times you don't have a little red number at the top right of your screen
Begin to feel more and more like rejection
Than anything that could happen in sub-reality ever should.
You are not truly alone.
When you have so many thoughts and feelings
Yet you can't think of the next thing to say,
Because what if it's not the right thoughts or feelings.
You should just stay quiet, they're not listening anyways.
You are not truly alone.
But yes, you probably feel alone.
You probably think this is just how life goes.
That you're born, you stare at a lot of screens,
You laugh, you love, you hurt, but you don't ever say too much
Or act too weird, or explore too far, or think too deep.
You do as your told, and you try to fit in,
You ignore things that don't feel good,
And you settle for what doesn't feel too awful.
And then you die.
But you are not truly alone.
You are not truly alone, because I stand beside you,
Longing deeply to see more, feel more, do more.
To think more, to read more, to sing more.
I want to say hard things, and ask hard questions.
I want to make sacrifices that give long-term benefits,
I want to be wrong, and learn, and grow.
I want to be better tomorrow than I was today,
And I want to connect to people,
To be with them as they feel, and grow, and experience God's love.
I want us all to get up and engage the world in the short time we get.
I too feel the pull to "be normal" and stick with what you know.
But I'd like to shove the fear of being alone
Where the sun don't shine, if you know what I mean.
Because there's no need to fear being alone,
You are never truly alone.
You are a perfect piece for right where you are.
You have been crafted and designed to do the work of Christ,
His hands were pierced and his body was wounded,
So that you would never be alone.
Know that you see things differently, and you feel things differently
Because you are different.
You are exactly what God Almighty thought the world needed.
You, right where you are, exactly who you are,
Awkward, silly, sassy, crazy, weird you were not created by mistake.
You feel things and see things in a different way,
Not because you're messed up or broken or strange, but
Because we need your perspective to get the full picture.
We need you. We need you to be different, or
The world will be missing out.
When you're tempted to simply sell out
And pretend you're fine with mediocre living,
Remember,
You are not truly alone,
I am right here with you.
"And behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age."
