Digital Only: Young Adults
Combat Loneliness with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
The author lives in Utah, USA.
When you feel alone, don’t forget to let the Father and Son’s love into your life.
Posed by model
Connection is something we strive for all our lives. We want to connect with our family, our friends, our significant other. In a world of technology, it’s easy to think you’re connected to everyone. This is partly true—you can keep in touch with others and see their social media posts—but this doesn’t always provide a deep emotional connection.
Feeling Holiday Loneliness
Disconnection can leave us feeling lonely. And this loneliness can be felt throughout the year, but it’s often worse during the holiday season, which is a shame because it’s a time we’re supposed to be surrounded by love and joy. But we may be lonely because we’re far away from home and those we love or even when we are with our families but not really connecting with them.
When it feels like it’s just you against the world, remember that there are two people who are always there for you. Two people who are always willing to connect with you no matter what you’re going through—Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I think sometimes we forget that we can always turn to Them when we’re so desperate to connect with everyone else.
Letting Them In
When I think about connecting with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, an experience I had a while ago comes to mind.
I was looking out my window at a rainstorm, waiting for the sound of it to bring me feelings of peace. Usually when I concentrate on listening to the drops of water hitting the ground, everything else I’m feeling gets washed away for a few precious moments.
Feelings of peace did come, but not nearly as much as I needed. Most of my thoughts were still stuck on the chaos of life. I didn’t understand why this wasn’t helping me feel better.
After a few minutes, a thought hit me. You’re not letting the rain in. With that, I tugged my window open and let the sound wash over me. There was the peace I was seeking. All the rest of my swirling thoughts faded away as I listened to the gentle rain.
I stood there a while before a question came to my mind: Am I letting God and the Savior into my life?
This caught me off guard. It wasn’t something I had thought about before. But the more I pondered that thought, the more it made sense. Letting the rain in brought me peace, and letting my Heavenly Father and my Savior into my life could bring me even more.
Opening My Heart to God
Letting the Savior and Heavenly Father in was only the first step. I still had to open my heart to Them. When I first listened to the rain through the window, it was muffled and didn’t provide me the ultimate peace I wanted. And if I hadn’t opened the window to let the sound in, I wouldn’t have felt what I did.
The same goes for all the “windows” of my life. If I have them all shut and locked, how can I truly accept Deity and establish a relationship with Them? How can I feel the Spirit and the peace of Their love wash over me?
Saying that I need to open all my windows is easier than actually doing so. I’ve realized that when I feel disconnected from the Spirit, I have to figure out what is keeping me cut off. Most of the time it’s small things like always being attached to my phone. Or not reading my scriptures as much as I should. Or deciding to follow my own will rather than seeking to know Theirs. Or even getting caught up in all my trials and distancing myself from Them because I think Heavenly Father is not answering my prayers.
Once I determine what’s keeping me from feeling the Spirit, I can choose to stop doing those things, one at a time. I can inch my windows open little by little, inviting Heavenly Father and the Savior in until I can feel Their love surround me.
Knowing We Are Never Alone
Loneliness can seem dark and never-ending at times, especially during Christmastime. In those moments when we want to give up, we have to remind ourselves: We are not alone. We just have to be willing to let Them in.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught: “Because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path.”1
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are always there for us. They are reaching out, patiently waiting for us to open our hearts and lives to Them—whether at Christmas or any other time.