We don’t talk about loneliness much because it’s usually a sign of weakness. Loneliness cries for attention. For someone to be there. For someone to understand. But loneliness from grief is different. Because no matter how many people are around you, whether it be 1 or 100, the loneliness is still there. Why? Because it is created by the absence of those who cannot come back. It is incurable. I’ve felt lonely many times in my life: when I’m home alone, or eating lunch at school by myself. But this form of lonely is hallow and dark. It can swallow you whole if you are not careful. There is no remedy for this loneliness, other than the arms of Jesus. But solutions as mentioned sometimes sound religious more than they do relational. It’s hard to say that a not so physical God could fill the gap of the very physical person that was once with you.
What of the empty hand he used to hold? What of the empty side of the bed he should be lying on? What of the empty place in my world that he used to reside? How can God fill the lonely holes? How can God solve the sleepless nights of needing to be held while the tears pour down?