If you have ever done much travelling by yourself, you likely know how lonely and isolated it can get once the ‘newness’ of traveling wears off.
You find yourself around thousands of other travelers in and out of airports, yet you are all by yourself. When funny things happen, there is no one to share those moments with. When you hit rocky spots or setbacks on your trip, there is no one to lean on and help you through it. There are no shared memories, and no shared struggles. It is just you.
When you look around the airport, you can see it on everyone else too. It is just a lot of islands unto themselves floating through their days, getting from one destination to the next, alone. You see people, myself included, numbing the solitude with magazines, books, iPhones, tablets, food and more. Some people are friendly, some not so much. We are all in the airports, restaurants and hotels together, yet we are all alone.
It sounds a lot like life, doesn’t it? For many people, this is a direct parallel of their life, day in and day out, alone.
No one deserves to live life alone, God created us for relationship. In the beginning, after God created Adam, He said it was not good for man to be alone, so He created him a mate. We were designed for relationship.
There is only one cure for loneliness, relationship. Relationships come from love.
If you are lonely today, first remember, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” While we may be alone physically, God has never left our side. Once we remember that, you can again have the confidence to show love to someone around you. Watch how quickly relationships will form!
I have met many travellers through simple gestures of love. Whether it was buying a serviceman lunch or pointing someone towards their gate…there are these little moments we all encounter that allow us to love someone, and break the loneliness that we all experience.
On the flip side, we all have a responsibility to love our neighbors, staving off loneliness before it sets it. If we all followed the second greatest command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, there would be a lot less loneliness in the world today.
I am sure many lonely travelers have been ‘affected’ by the random kind gestures I do while I’m on the road. It not only takes away my own loneliness, but likely transforms the other person’s day too.
Hebrews 13:1-2 reads, “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
Love a ‘wayward’ traveller today; it may be the only love they experience all week!
Grace and Peace.
