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Loneliness, Lonely, Comfort Dana Rongione Loneliness, Lonely, Comfort Dana Rongione

Smiling on the Outside, Screaming on the Inside

You can be in a room full of people and still feel utterly, devastatingly alone.

I know this because I've been there. Surrounded by voices and laughter, yet feeling invisible. Present at the table, yet somehow on the outside looking in. Smiling and nodding while your heart screams, "Does anyone really see me? Does anyone really know what I'm going through?"

Loneliness is one of those struggles Christians rarely discuss openly. We're supposed to have community, the church, and be surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ who care about us and walk alongside us. And yes, that's beautiful when it happens. But what about when it doesn't? What about when you're sitting in a pew next to dozens of believers and have never felt more alone in your life?

The Christian community has often responded to loneliness with a Band-Aid solution: “Just serve more.”

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Lonely, Overwhelmed, Weary, Comfort, Encouragement, God's goodness, Rise Up and Build, Deadly Darts of the Devil Dana Rongione Lonely, Overwhelmed, Weary, Comfort, Encouragement, God's goodness, Rise Up and Build, Deadly Darts of the Devil Dana Rongione

Jacob’s Rock-Bottom Dream

If I were Jacob, I'd be grumpy. His brother wants him dead (not that he didn't bring that on himself). He's left home with little more than a walking stick, and the sun has gone down in the middle of nowhere. There's no inn and no pillow. So he does what any desperate traveler would do and grabs a rock. Comfy, huh? Genesis 28:11 says he put the stones "for his pillows." Plural. Rocks everywhere, and not a memory-foam mattress in sight.

Then comes the dream. A ladder stands on the earth with its top reaching to heaven. Angels go up and down like rush hour at a holy train station. At the top stands the LORD Himself, who makes Jacob a promise:

"And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest... for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." (Genesis 28:15)

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Encouragement, Comfort, trials, Weary, Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione Encouragement, Comfort, trials, Weary, Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione

When You’ve Prayed, Planted, and Still See No Fruit

I've become a bit of a field-watcher lately, and I promise it's not as strange as it sounds. As I've mentioned, there's a pasture directly behind our house here in Wales. Over the past several months, I've had a front-row seat to its entire transformation, and let me tell you, it's been quite the show.

It started out gorgeous. Tall grasses waved in the breeze like something out of a storybook, and I'd look out my window and think, Well, isn't that just lovely? It was rhythmic and calming, much like watching ocean waves. Honestly, I could have watched that field sway all day.

Then one morning, I looked out, and the grasses were gone, cut clean down. What had been lush and lovely was now dry, short, and a little sad-looking. I remember thinking, Well, that's depressing!

But the field wasn't finished with its dramatic arc. Next came the manure.

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Comfort, Encouragement, Overwhelmed, Weary Dana Rongione Comfort, Encouragement, Overwhelmed, Weary Dana Rongione

The Weight Is Real, But So Is The One Holding You

I have a confession to make. For most of my Christian life, I read Psalm 55:22 the same way I read a coupon: quickly, hopefully, and mostly for what it could do for me. "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee." I always pictured it like handing off a heavy suitcase at the airport counter. “Here, God, take this. Now, please, make the bad thing stop.”

But lately, my hands have been too full and too shaky to keep handing things off one at a time. Between chronic illness flare-ups, deadlines breathing down my neck, and the general exhaustion of trying to hold my little corner of the world together, I haven't just been carrying a burden. I've felt like I was the one about to come apart, bolt by bolt, seam by seam, like an old rocking chair that creaks a little louder every time you sit in it. (And, yes, there are literal creaks!)

So this week, I went digging a little deeper into this verse, and friends, what I found didn't just satisfy me. It undid me in the best possible way.

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Comfort, peace, Anxiety, Worry, Rise Up and Build, Encouragement Dana Rongione Comfort, peace, Anxiety, Worry, Rise Up and Build, Encouragement Dana Rongione

What To Do With Your 2 a.m. Worries

For the most part, I’m a morning person.  I don’t enjoy getting up super early these days, especially as the dark night seems to stretch on until well after 8:00. But overall, I function better in the mornings.  My body aches less.  My brain feels more alert. My motivation and discipline seem to be higher. Yes, give me the mornings, and I can get things accomplished.

That being said, by about 2:00 in the afternoon, I’m crashing, and by 6:00, I’m of no use to anyone!  Yes, by 6:00, I have to walk away from the desk, the housework, and any other demands on my mind and body, and start winding down for the night.

So, my real struggle isn't the mornings or even the afternoons. It's the nights.

You know the kind of nights I mean. The house finally goes quiet. Everyone else is asleep.

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