Never Alone: Unpack Loneliness and Revitalize Your HeartSample

Devotional

Processing all of the things triggering your loneliness isn’t easy. Bringing up things you’d previously buried means re-exposing yourself to them, which can hurt—a lot. But without unpacking everything to understand it, nothing changes. When you are sitting in the dark pit of loneliness, stagnancy is even more uncomfortable and damaging than trying something new.

Consider journaling about what you are pulling out from under your rug. It doesn’t mean you have to go crazy writing for those of you who don’t necessarily enjoy it. The goal is just to empty out the things on your mind and heart, making them visible and tangible to target. From there, reframe the experience in a different light to understand the experience better. This doesn’t mean you’re discounting the wrong or hurt in it but rather dissecting it in a way that allows you to heal. When we can contextualize our negative experiences, we can let go of the hurt it reminds us of.

Thought reframing can be arduous work, but eventually, we teach our brains (and our whole selves) to be healthier. Isn’t it crazy how we can so easily find empathy and give grace to others more than ourselves? You’re so deserving of the same grace, my friend.

When we last left our reading of Ruth, we met Boaz and witnessed his lovingkindness in offering a protected place for her to work and earn food and in how he genuinely welcomed her. Ruth could have refused to leave the home she and Naomi shared, assuming anyone she encountered wouldn’t accept her. She was a Moabite woman, a former pagan, and a complete outsider. Instead, she trusted God and pursued a new life with faith guiding her way.

Time and time again, we’re reminded of what it means to be faithful. It’s important to pull that faith when navigating loneliness, too. It plays out beautifully in Ruth’s journey as she holds Naomi’s hand through continual hardship.

I love reading through Paul’s letters in Philippians. He says in chapter 4:6–8, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

These verses more adequately describe thought reframing than anything I could ever suggest. Now, Paul was going through some pretty hard times, but even in the midst of it all, he’s reminding us to take our prayers to God and to allow Jesus to be a presence in the middle of a storm. Loneliness can create a mental prison and spiraling negative mental health symptoms. Our Bible and the story of Ruth are a beautiful way to infuse and reframe good into what we’re experiencing.