Finding Hope Beyond The FrontEgzanp

Loneliness

Christy, Marine wife

I gave Dan one last kiss goodbye. With a lump the size of Kansas in my throat, I thought of all the things he would miss while he was deployed in Iraq. He’d miss our anniversary in a couple days, and he certainly wouldn’t be home for Christmas. More importantly, however, he’d miss our first child’s birth and all the other firsts that come in the beginning of a baby’s life.

I waved goodbye, my eyes swelling with tears. I rested my hands on my very pregnant belly as I felt the arms of God wrap around me like never before. As Dan’s bus got smaller and smaller in the distance, Jeremiah’s reassurance to the exiled Israelites took on a whole new meaning: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future... You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” 

No matter how forgotten we feel, God does not abandon His people. 

What exactly were those plans that God had for us? As I asked the questions, God had answers. God provided for me. His plans were to show me through the tears and lonely nights what it means when He says that His strength is perfected in weakness. Just as God promised Jeremiah, He was there when I needed Him. 

PRAYER: Thank you, Lord for Your plan that prevails. Help me to seek You when I am lonely. May I find Your plans for me in Your Word.

PASSAGES FOR STUDY: 2 Corinthians 12; Psalm 23; Hebrews 10.