Q:

This Christmas will be hard for me. Most of my relatives are gone now (including my husband), and the few I do have are either too old or live too far away. I am completely alone. Please tell people to reach out to lonely people during holidays, because it's hard for them.

A:

Thank you for your letter – and I hope many readers will take your words to heart. You’re right: Holidays are especially hard when we’ve lost our loved ones or they aren’t near us, and the friendship of another person is especially welcome then.

Let me point out two truths about loneliness. First, we are never completely alone when we know Jesus Christ. When we turn to Christ in faith and commit our lives to Him, He comes to live within us by His Spirit, and He is constantly with us. Jesus’ promise is true: “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Is Christ real to you?

Second, God wants us to reach out to those who are lonely and let them know we care. When we feel all alone, it’s hard to reach out to others – and yet that may be exactly what we need to do to overcome our own loneliness. All around you are people who may be just as lonely as you are. Ask God to help you to be a friend to them.

Remember: No one was ever lonelier than Jesus when He went to the cross for us. He knows what it is to be lonely! But because He died and rose again for us, He is with us now – and will be with us through all eternity.