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Home Alone….

By June 3, 2012August 30th, 2022Devotional

Although I am on the road quite a bit, something very unusual happened this week-end. I was home, and yet I was alone. Now I know that doesn’t sound like anything out of the ordinary, but with all the family that Janet and I have around, I never remember being “totally” alone before when I was in town.

Janet and Kristin were down near the Indy airport for a conference that Janet had to attend as the president of a women’s group that she belongs to here in Carmel. And since Kristin is vice-president of the same organization, she attended the state convention as well. Of course, it was great that Kristin was there as she was a big help to Janet during their stay. Since Kristin was, for all intents and purposes, out of town, her three boys were with their Dad for the week-end and so they weren’t around for me to interact with. Jill and her son, Drew, have gone home to Oklahoma so they were no longer in Carmel, and then I remembered that Andrew, Stacy and their 2 kids were on the way to Oklahoma to visit Jill.

So, nobody was around – nobody, that is, except the dogs. I told Janet that I would stay around home to take care of Lexie and so on Friday, I had a meeting close to home and then did paper work for the rest of the day. Kristin’s dog, Yogi, stayed with me as well, and since he is another Doberman, at least I knew that nobody was going to break in and steal anything. Lex and Yogi get along well, but let’s face it, it’s not like we live in a palace and it can get a little tight with 2 big dogs taking command of the house.

Yogi’s stay with me ended just before noon on Saturday, because then I had to pick up Andrew’s dog, Trinity, from the kennel and bring her back to our home to begin her week stay with us – until next Sunday. And it doesn’t work so well when the three dogs are together – I think they get jealous of one another. Now when there are several dogs around, I can’t leave the house for very long, so aside from alone, I was trapped. And those of you who have been readers for some time know that I NEVER stay home when Janet is gone.

I run errands, get caught up on things, and generally stay busy doing things that I don’t do when Janet is in town. Sometimes I get a little ahead on my posts, or study my lessons for the weekly Bible study, which starts on Thursday. But I’m not ever trapped in the the house sitting for two or three dogs.

When I thought about it, I realized that in 39 years of marriage, Janet has never attended a conference, other than the ones that I had to go to. And she has never spent a night in a hotel when I was still in the same city. So, the last several days have held a number of firsts. But none so profound as the revelation that every single family member was gone – busy doing something else and that resulted in me being “home alone”.

In all honesty, it was kind of a weird feeling. No bad, or good – just strange. And by now, you know how I get when something like this happens to me… I head to the Scriptures and think about writing a post!

So what does God say about being alone? There are many verses about it, but the one I like best has to do with a conversation that Christ had with His disciples. John, in his gospel, tells us that Christ, who usually talked in parables, was speaking plainly to His disciples and they finally believed that He was from God. However, Jesus was letting them know that the day was coming when they would scatter and leave Jesus alone.

We can pick up the story in John 16:31-33, “You believe at last!” Jesus answered. “But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Notice that Jesus said that even though all His earthly friends had scattered, He was not alone, for His Father was with Him. That’s a great thought, isn’t it? No matter what the situation on this earth, we are never alone – God is with us.

My encouragement this evening is to let you know that God will never leave you. In fact, in Heb. 13:5, we are specifically told by God, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” That should give all of us peace and hope that we have any eternity with God. My prayer is that you will always take comfort in the fact that you are never truly alone. The God of the universe is your constant companion – even if you are stuck inside taking care of the dogs…. Grace and peace…

One Comment

  • Jill says:

    Even though you were home alone know that we were all missing you and thinking of you with smiles on our faces! I love you Dad. Awesome post!!

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