I’m currently in a (chosen) season of life where I am nowhere near any friends. In fact, the closest physical friends I have are a five-and-a-half-hour drive north through the vast wilderness of Alaska. Everyone else is pretty much on the other side of the continent in the Eastern United States. Like I said, though, this was a chosen season of life where my husband and I wanted adventure more than stability. Moving every 3 months certainly has unique challenges of its own. After selling almost everything we owned to fit everything we needed into our compact SUV, we found that the one thing you can’t prepare for is how it feels to be so far away from friends, family, and loved ones.
Thanks to the global pandemic, we all know what it’s like to feel sectioned off to where the only communication option is over the phone or computer. Though I’ve done countless video chats with my sisters and precious nephew, nights of Virtual Reality games with my inlaws, or multiple hour-long phone calls with my friend, it’s never the same as being in person.
One thing that I have found that makes me feel closer, no matter how many thousands of miles away I am, is praying over those I love that I cannot be with. So much of relationships are about intentionally carving out time for one another, being open enough to share how you’re actually doing, listening as though there’s nothing more important to do but to be with that person, and meeting them where they are.
More from this Author: Overcoming Fear – My Journey to Trusting in God’s Protection
I have felt as though there’s so much vulnerability in asking to pray for someone you love and even more in asking for prayer. It’s inviting someone into your darkest moments and you being invited into theirs, trusting that our Loving Father hears the requests. Praying together is also sharing in each other’s greatest joys, hearing one another’s hopes and dreams, and knowing that the best thing you can do is give them up to the One who loves us more than anything.
Being alone so much of my days sometimes makes me tuck away farther into a shell, but the Lord is working in my heart, whispering to me how good it is to let others in, to share in my joys and sorrows, to let someone lift me when I need it most. Matthew 18:20 says, “Where two or more are gathered, there I am with them.” I encourage you to seek out those who are lonely, lost, or looking, and simply offer to pray with them. It will certainly do wonders in their life, but I would be willing to bet it will do the same in yours.
