There is a growing movement at large in our culture today called loneliness.  George Gallup was quoted over 20 years ago as saying, “Americans are among the loneliest people in the world.”  I recently did a word search on the web and discovered that there are sites solely dedicated to helping people beat loneliness.  It’s both real and prevalent in our culture.

It’s strange to think that we can live in crowded neighborhoods, drive on busy highways, sip coffee in Starbucks, work around a lot of people and still be disconnected from meaningful relationships with others.  We can be around people all the time and still feel isolated and alone.  We may even have a lot of acquaintances, but what about anything of depth?

Excuses?  I have a few, what about you?  Need someone or something to blame?  What about our culture?  We have moved away from big covered front porches to big fenced-in backyards.  What about the internet?  I can escape whenever I want to.  I can engage in a virtual world.  I can be who I want to be and do what I want to do and never interact with another person.  What about my pain?  Hey, don’t touch my pain…you are getting way to personal now.  Some of us have been hurt so much and know so little healing that we shut people out.  What about fear?  What if they know who I really am?  It’s easy to allow excuses such as these to get in the way of us developing meaningful connections with others.

Even though we all deal with these realities on some level, it doesn’t mean that we have to live a life void of community life, void of deep and meaningful connections.  You and I were created to share life with others.  Dig down deep and commit to a counter cultural life – a life that values connections.  Give yourself to the hard work of overcoming fear and taking a risk.  Don’t allow the potential for rejection to get in the way of the together life that you were created for.  Reach out to others.  Get involved in a small group.  Make it a point to be friendly.  You can beat loneliness!  If you find yourself in that place, can I encourage you here.  Don’t stay there.