For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38, 39, NIV.
Moving to a new country can be a little scary and also very lonely, even after many years. After being married and living in Sri Lanka for seven years, I still found parts of my life empty, vacant. I found myself trying to fill this vacancy with friends from church, coworkers at the office, classmates back in India, and my best friend in Australia—but to no avail. Something seemed lacking and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Then one day, while preparing for a feature talk in Sabbath School, I came across a verse I had often overlooked—the verse that comes after the famous “a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows” (Psalm 68:5). Verse 6 told me that “God sets the lonely in families.”
Although married to a wonderful man, I knew he was struggling to juggle studying and working at the same time, while keeping up with his exercise regime. Often he was hard pressed to find time to spend with me, though he tried his utmost.
Having grown up in a very close-knit, fun-loving extended family, my now being in a family of two suddenly seemed quiet, although, being somewhat of an introvert, I enjoyed time on my own as well. And then suddenly, in the fifth, most difficult, and final year of my husband’s pursuit of a degree, one of my cousins decided to work in my country. She moved in with us for one year. With her being there, we had several visits from her family (and a bunch of her friends) as well as one from my mother.
It was a fabulous year. My cousin and I share many similar interests and quirks, even our careers are in a related field. We cooked together. We baked together. We watched movies together. We sang together. We made our own Christmas tree. The three of us did trips together and went to plays together.
She’s gone back home now. But I am better for the past year she spent with us. Whenever I feel alone, while praying, I know without a doubt that God is looking after me, because He loves me. Nothing can separate me from that love. And that’s all I need.
Cheryl Howson
First published in Notes of Joy (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press), 2018.
Carolyn R. Sutton, editor
