You are Not Alone

    
Today's message may not resonate with you. You may be someone that is surrounded by family and dear friends that support you and provide you with a wealth of comfort and security each day. Or, you may be someone that has a loving family and a support system that is readily available, but yet you still feel all alone. Or, you may not have a support cast, you are disconnected from family due to some type of life circumstance. Your network of friends appears superficial, or it might be the case that you feel like you do not have a friend at all. Regardless of where you are on this spectrum, regardless of how much support you have or don't have, how much you feel loved or unloved today, I have one assurance that you need to know, "You are not alone!"
     As a society, we are around people more today than ever before in the history of mankind. Beyond physical social interactions which are almost unavoidable, we also are interconnected with "friends" all over the world by the simple clicking a button on the smart device of choice. Why in our homes we even have Siri and Alexia that are available to us providing facts, trivia, and even a joke when we need a laugh. So why is it that in a society where we can garner almost immediate support for our need of the moment that severe depression and feelings of hopelessness effect approximately 40 million adults over 18 in America alone. That's like almost 20% of our population! In a world that touts being so "connected", how is this possible? Could it be that in a world that has so many ways to connect with others, that we have lost our connection with the One that is and always has been and always will be right there for us and with us?
     One day last week my co-worker and friend Pam shared a picture of a breathtaking sunset that she had captured on her cell phone. The color scheme of that photo made the sky appear to almost be on fire. It looked like a deep red blanket had cloaked what normally is a blue sky. In another picture, she caught the morning sunrise with all of its warm orange, red, pink, blues, and purples signaling the beginning of a new day. As I skimmed through the collection of pictures on Pam's phone, I couldn't help but think about who the painter of these pictures was, and I couldn't stop being amazed at the omnipotence of God the creator of all and the one that is always with us. Later that evening as I sat down in prayer, I wrote this prayer of thanks for the constant reminder that God has given us to know we are never alone. 
"Lord God Almighty, my morning sunrise and my evening comfort and peace. Each day we are surrounded by your love. I am thankful for the assurance that you will never leave me nor forsake me. That assurance is renewed each morning. Lord help me to stop and take in the rising sun, the colors on display are vibrant and so full of life. As the day moves forward and your sun begins to peak over the tallest mountains it is evident and obvious that you are there, inviting us to rise ourselves and greet this gift of a new day. Throughout the day, you provide us with the light we need to see where we are going and what we need to do. Where darkness exists, you bring light, where injustice is berthed you weaken it with Your light. Then as the day comes to a close you glorify the day with the waning sunset, once again declaring Your mighty, awesome omnipotence through the brilliant colors of the evening sky. Father even when we can't see You, we know You are there because Your light reflects off the moon guaranteeing us that you are still there even in our darkest moments of despair. When we experience grief, it may appear that in our time of a "new moon" we are alone, but just as that thought enters our minds, Your light begins to wax the moon once again assuring us that you are ever present. At the darkest point of the night, when Your light seems to be gone, we have the stars in the sky as examples of how we are to live our lives spreading the light that You have placed in each of us. No Lord, we are never alone, and we are never forsaken, You give us that assurance with each day that your sun rises and sets. Thank you Father God for never leaving us alone. Amen"
Take a moment, a real moment to embrace a sunrise this week. Get up early, go to a window, go outside, or get in your car and drive to a place where you can take in the full omnipotent power that is evidenced by the sun rising for the new day. As you rush about your evening list of things to do before you reach home, stop and grasp the awesomeness of the sun as it sets on the horizon. You are not alone. 
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

Coach Carter