AGONY OF LONELINESS

Just A Thought I’ve Been Thinking About The – AGONY OF LONELINESS.

Loneliness varies with people in different situations of life. Those who attempt to define it have varied conclusions. One source gives a basic generalization: “Virtually everyone experiences loneliness from time to time, with many people becoming especially aware of feelings of loneliness around the holiday season and during times of extreme stress.”

Samuel Taylor Coleridge in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner wrote about loneliness expressed in these snippets: (1) Alone, alone, all, all alone; (2) Alone on a wide, wide sea; (3) And never a saint took pity on; (4) My soul in agony. He amplified his thought on the agony of loneliness with these words:

“Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched

With a woeful agony,

Which forced me to begin my tale; And then it left me free.

Since then, at an uncertain hour,That agony returns:

And till my ghastly tale is told, This heart within me burns.”

The thought about “agony” caught my eye because of a chain of events that led to a recent choice. A person who chose to end his life last week wrote about his inner wrestling a year ago. He stated the following: “I have come to believe that addiction is a poorly-named illness…I will call it The AGONY…If you’ve ever had a headache so bad you’ve longed to take a drill to your head to relieve the pressure, perhaps you can understand the intensity. I do not know how intensely ‘normal’ people feel negative feelings, I only know that, for me, they can be debilitating, and intolerable. I cannot sleep, but don’t want to be awake. I cannot concentrate on anything, but need to occupy myself with something. My mind reels with all the fears of the future and the present setting in. My pulse and brain race. It becomes impossible to think of what good coping mechanism might work to take the edge off of the AGONY. I would rather feel anything than the AGONY when it comes over me.”

It was a cry for help and relief but it eluded him. What can or should a person do to help alleviate the troubled soul and the lonely person? Words that tell us about God’s focus upon His people are expressed in Psalm 68:5-6 (AMP), 

“A father of the fatherless and a judge and protector of the widows, Is God in His holy habitation. God makes a home for the lonely…” 

Another guideline for the individual is given in Romans 12:10-13 (AMP), 

“Be devoted to one another with [authentic] brotherly affection [as members of one family], give preference to one another in honor; never lagging behind in diligence; aglow in the Spirit, enthusiastically serving the Lord; constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ], steadfast and patient in distress, devoted to prayer [continually seeking wisdom, guidance, and strength], contributing to the needs of God’s people, pursuing [the practice of] hospitality.”

A phone call; an informal visit (more brief than lengthy); a note of friendship mailed; a shopping trip; a hospital visit… The list can be expanded to include many other opportunities. One of the major thoughts one should have – Don’t assume your parents or friends are getting along and doing fine. Your assumption can be incorrect. Hearing your voice will cheer a lonely soul and bring happy memories. Even if an aging person repeats a story you have heard many times before, don’t impatiently cut off the teller of his or her story. Be concerned. Make frequent contact.

Prayerfully – Consider these things with me.