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Viewpoint from Mary Ives 26/04/2019
 Mary Ives
Lay Minister in the Church of England
licensed to Belton and Burgh Castle
as published in the Yarmouth Mercury
I wonder how many of you reading this struggle with loneliness? Several times over the last few weeks I have read articles and been brought face to face with the reality of loneliness and come to realise how blessed I am to have a supportive family and a circle of close friends around me. Many people in our society are not only lonely, but they feel isolated because of their circumstances. People can experience this at different points in their lives. Although it is not easy to overcome, there are people we can turn to, groups we can join, activities we can get involved in which will help us to make new friends and acquaintances. Of course loneliness doesn’t just affect those who live alone – it can also affect people living with others – where the closeness they crave isn’t forthcoming
 If we read the Bible, there is a lot said about loneliness. It starts in Genesis and the story of creation when we note that God said “It is not good for man to be alone”. It was then that Eve was created to be a helpmate to Adam, because he was lonely and needed company; she was the golden opportunity to help him build a supportive relationship
Loneliness needs confronting. One aspect of our modern day life is we often forget to look at our spiritual life. God is a factor we have frequently taken out of the equation, but He is still there and longs to build a relationship with each of us. Jesus talked to his followers about the fact they do not need to be alone – he talks about the coming of the Holy Spirit as a comforter, the counsellor who would empower them to live as followers of Jesus
 Paul talks about the Holy Spirit helping us to understand our relationship with God when he says, “God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children” (the Message)
However alone we feel we can turn to our heavenly Father – we can build a relationship with him. Starting with prayer – always a good place to start! Then we can look for other members of God’s family and learn to share life together. New opportunities can open themselves up for us. We just need to make that first tentative step to start on a new pathway
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