I don’t feel like I am breaking a confidence when I tell you that my middle child, who is 15, is afraid of aliens. I mean, like, really afraid. He is fairly certain that they exist-the traditional kind you see on movies like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” The tall skinny ones with gangly arms and legs, a bald head and two black holes for eyes. Terrifying. He was even admitting this fact to his adorable Homecoming date last weekend. He clearly has no shame in having this fear. And what exactly is this fear? Ultimately it’s the fear that Fox Moulder (the handsome X-Files Star) was right: We are not alone. And being not alone because there are extraterrestrials out there does seem a little disconcerting. But actually, I believe he is right. Well, not about the aliens, but about the “alone-ness”. We are NOT.
It’s not just that I believe there is something bigger out there than “Us”, most of us believe that. It may not always look the same from person to person, but I think that the majority of people have an inner “knowing” that tells them there is something or someone more powerful than themselves at work in the world. But that’s a whole different blog. What I want to say today, is that I also believe that we are not alone among each other, either. Here’s how I have experienced this truth first hand. Every time I get ready to write a blog, I ask myself what it is that I am excited about or struggling with and that is typically what I address. What jumps out at me when I do my daily readings are the areas that need highlighting in my life; so I talk about it “out loud” with you. I inevitably get responses from other who feel like I am spying on them or have read their mail. These comments come from no particular people-group. Some of them are younger than me and some older. Some have faith backgrounds and some question whether God is real. Some are women who are moms, like me, and some are men in retirement. The only common denominator is that we are human beings trying to find our way in this world. If I write about it, I have experienced it or thought it or battle it. So even if it’s just you and me, that’s two of us who can hold each other up as we trudge through the muck and mire of life. Chances are there are a couple others out there who might even be able to join us. There is a comfort in knowing “we are not alone.” If you have ever felt that you’re the “only one”, I hope you feel some relief knowing that someone else, quite possibly me, has been there too. You are most definitely not alone.
