So I warned you all the consistency
would be lacking on this little endeavor… in fairness, I had every intention of
writing yesterday but my children love me so much they fail to give me a moment
alone. ;) Anyways, the topic on my heart yesterday was a little less sarcastic
and a lot more serious, which oddly enough was brought up in my newsfeed by
another friend as well. I call this one: The
Lonely Road.
Now, I can’t speak for those who
are in a working environment because I personally haven’t experienced that.
However, as a stay at home mother I can tell you that though I have countless
friends and acquaintances that also stay home with their kids, I find it is
nearly impossible to find anyone who actually has time to spare for a decent
friendship. Everyone’s lives are so full, most working some type of job from
home, taking care of their homes and families, extracurricular activities etc.
No one has any time for simply just talking life with one another. Now, I have
seen countless of my friends express their struggles as introverts, lacking a
desire to even seek out relationships and time with others. However, I
personally am an extrovert, I love people and I am fueled mentally, emotionally
and spiritually when I am spending time with others. This is why I am an avid
Facebooker, because the lack of personal relationships is so great in the “real
world” that my social self cannot mentally handle being detached from society
all day, every day, seven days a week. If it wasn’t for my mother, who is by
far my dearest friend that I speak with daily, I honestly think I would be in a
state of depression due to the lack of fellowship in my life.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I have
friends, and I love them dearly. I see people all throughout the week at
different things such as church, co-op, awana, bible study, heck even my two
daycare kiddos parents are some of my closest friends. However, it’s different
when you have random conversations here and there and when you actually invest
and share life with those around you. I can’t tell you the last time I had
someone randomly “check in” with me just to see how my life was going. This is
even more disheartening when I’ve poured out my heart to someone about personal
struggles and never hear from them about it again. What happened to friendships
that allowed for us to not only be each other’s shoulder to cry on, but vessels
of encouragement and discipleship? I personally never imagined how difficult it
would be to make friends as an adult, and moreover, I never dreamed becoming a mother
would prove to be such a lonely venture. I know I am not alone in this feeling
either, I see it all over my newsfeed, hear it from friends, and watch the evidence
of it in the statistics of mother’s experiencing depression throughout our
country. Why is it so hard for us to make time for each other? And if the
effects are so devastating, why don’t we make more of an effort to fix the
problem?
Personally, I believe this is one
of Satan’s many schemes to keep God’s people down. We were wired to have community
and the busier life gets, the less God’s people invest in one another. He
brings us to a place of isolation, where even the strongest will struggle with
depression and discouragement if not careful. I’d say this is where I am
thankful for social media, but then again, I wonder if it didn’t exist then we’d
be forced to seek out those relationships most of us desire so badly.
“Two are better than one, because
they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help
him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” –
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man
sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17
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