Loneliness

The empty spaces in your heart, between your fingers, beside you on the park bench, they're meant to be filled.  God made us with a need for companionship.  He even said, "It is not good for man to be alone."

But He didn't make us this way to find fulfillment in another human.  He allowed us to be lonely so we are drawn to His companionship.  The holes in our hearts can only be completely filled with His love.

I heard someone once say that you are not ready for a relationship until you are prepared to be single for life.  Harsh, right?  I thought so too.  Like, come on! Who would ever WANT to be single?!  Okay, maybe a few people.  But every young person?

It makes sense now, despite the strong wording.  The message is logical though.

Only when you are content to fulfill God's purpose for your life, just Him, just you, only when you are happy in the place He's put you right here, right now, can you love another person like God loves you.

While I wrote this in the context of grief, it also fits with the painful waiting for the "perfect one:"

What if loneliness is God's own remedy

And emptiness drives us back to Him?

What if heaven's silence is the Father's warm embrace

Love too deep for spoken words

But hears us when we call?

When we love Him for who He is and what He's done, 

When we look to Him for every need, physical, spiritual, and emotional, 

When we rest in our companionship with Him, 

 Little will change when we meet our soulmate.  But it will be so much deeper.  

If you're content in Christ, you'll be content in the arms of a romantic relationship.

Are you lonely?  Reach out.