My first reader for many of my columns is a dear friend who lives alone. She wondered why I put so much emphasis on family and community in the answer to this question.
I realized yet again that the Bible was written in a world so radically different from ours–and that there would have been no such thing as a person living alone, particularly a woman. Everyone was embedded in some sort of family system–that was the place of residence, of identity, and of protection.
The societal isolation that is becoming more common today simply didn’t exist in that kind of Middle Eastern culture.
After my own retirement from active work in the pastorate, I rented an apartment where I lived alone. Although I cherished the privacy and deep quiet of this way of life, I also discovered how much I needed a group of friends whom I could name as “family” for my own emotional and spiritual health.
When I found myself in the delightful situation of having met the person that is now my husband, I wondered how I would deal with living with someone again. What I discovered was the real joy of living with someone who I respect so highly and who respects me as well. In our differences (I’ve written about some of them in the series, “When an ‘anyone but Hillary’ is married to an “anyone but Donald‘”) we each grow and learn more about ourselves and each other.
The scriptures very much speak truth in the statement “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Or the woman. And that is what the church is about. We do need each other.
[Note: a version of this column is scheduled to run in the August 26, 2016, edition of the Denton Record Chronicle. The Thoughtful Pastor, AKA Christy Thomas, welcomes all questions for the column. Although the questioner will not be identified, I do need a name and verifiable contact information in case the newspaper editor has need of it. Please email questions to: thoughtfulpastor@gmail.com.]
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