Alone

Psalm 30:5 – For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Long before my parents were married, my dad walked the 700-odd miles from Edmonton, Alberta, to a little town in northeastern British Columbia. It was the "dirty thirties" and he knew he could work a trapline and survive. His brother was already up there and had established a good relationship with the people of the First Nations.

It was 60 degrees below zero on December 26th, 1938 and he froze both his feet, forcing him now to be "trapped" in a little trapper's cabin primarily used as a stopover. Alone. Just him and his dog.

Every day now, my brother e-mails a page from our dad's diary at that time to relatives throughout the country. The entries aren't long, nor does our dad ever question "why." He describes in little detail the condition of his wounded feet and the pain; how much food is left, and how he had to begin burning the little bit of furniture for fuel. He writes in a way that one can almost feel his pain, especially when he says he never wants to be alone again.

There are times for many of us when we, though surrounded by people, feel the pain of being alone. Our souls seem to ache for something, and, not knowing what it is, we too, feel trapped and alone.

When we give it up to God, the words of today's verse, Psalm 30:5, ease our pain, for the "night" may be any length of time; "joy" comes in many, many forms and in many, many ways; the "morning" may mean whenever something "breaks"; and we know, with God, we are never really alone.

Prayer: We thank you Father, that you are with us throughout our dark "nights" and that you bring us great joy when "morning has broken". In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.