2 Mistakes We Make That Create Loneliness

Mistake #2: Not Asking For Help

Community doesn’t have to mean always being in harmony. It simply means sharing life together—not just offering support but asking for it when it is needed. It also means treating your community as if they are true family.

When I was living in Boston, a pastor shared a story about good friends who had moved to California. One night at 3:00 am, the pastor and his wife were awakened with an urgent phone call from their friends asking for prayer. Raging wildfires were threatening their home and community. From their window they could see the glow of thousands of acres burning—the fire was advancing quickly as they raced to evacuate their home. The pastor and his wife got out of their bed and knelt on the cold floor, praying urgently for an hour for the protection of their friends, their home, and everyone in the area.

In the end, although the fire consumed thousands of acres and several neighborhoods, the broader community—and their friends’ house—was spared.

The homeowner called the pastor and thanked him profusely for being a true friend. The pastor answered, “No. Thank you.  You were the one being a true friend. You thought enough of our friendship that you were willing to wake us up in the middle of the night to ask us to pray. You were good enough friends that you were willing to ‘inconvenience’ us.”