The Pain Of Separation

May 15

In a long-ago and far-away time, extended families lived together under one roof or in the same neighborhood. It was not uncommon during my childhood to have three or four houses in one block that were occupied by members of the same family. Often included among the residents of one household were children, parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents!

Today, that is rarely the case. Young people set off to make their fortune by following the job market wherever it takes them. The likelihood of obtaining gainful employment in the area where they grew up is remote. Gone are the small factories, neighborhood stores and ‘Mom and Pop’ groceries that once dotted the landscape all around us and supplied jobs to local residents.

Because they are often required to travel far afield of their hometowns, young people as well as the older folks they leave behind are confronted with a reality that few members of previous generations ever had to face. That is the emptiness that surges within when people are cut off from those who are familiar, from childhood friends and family members. God addresses the problem of loneliness in His Word.

David, who knew alienation from members of his family, said in Psalm 68:6, “God sets the lonely in families; He leads forth the prisoners with singing, but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” This seems to tell us that although we may be bound by empty feelings that accompany the time and distance between ourselves and loved ones, those who love the Lord will know joy—and have rains of refreshing upon them wherever they are.