I Was Never Alone Again
Contributed by Sandra Woodson, PhD
Are you lonely? If so, you are not alone. A recent survey published by the American Psychological Association discovered that 54% of U.S. adults felt isolated often or some of the time. In fact, the results state that “loneliness may have become a defining feature of life in America.” American Psychological Association. (2025). Stress in America 2025: A crisis of connection. apa.org/pubs/reports/stress-in-america/2025
I know all about loneliness. I grew up in the 1950s as an only child. Far from the “Leave it to Beaver” life, I had parents who truly wanted the best for me, but my father was a perfectionist, and my mother was emotionally abusive. My mom worked full-time to be able to send me to exclusive private schools, where I was bullied mercilessly because I was from “the wrong side of the tracks.” At the same time, I had no neighborhood friends because I didn’t go to school there. I came home alone every day, sat in our apartment, and cried. In high school I met my husband, who became a type of savior in my life, someone who truly loved me. We married very young, but after several years of married life we began having problems between us, primarily due to immaturity. This all reached a climax just before my 28th birthday. I had never felt more alone. I had no siblings and no real friends. I felt abandoned by my husband. And my parents seemed suffocating and overbearing. They had become Christians the year before, and I felt that their new beliefs were just one more thing that they tried to push down my throat.
But, right on cue, my parents came to town for a visit on Labor Day weekend 1979. My father insisted that my husband and I attend a local dinner meeting of a Christian organization with them, and of course I went. Not that I wanted to. But the only way I survived my childhood was to be extremely compliant, so of course I went to the meeting. However, I was angry. Really angry. Angry with my parents, angry with my husband, angry at life. I sat and stared at my food and couldn’t eat. I couldn’t talk. I wanted to die.
Then an Australian man got up to speak. He shared his life story about being a drug addict and ending up homeless, living on the street. I wasn’t really listening, but suddenly he began to talk about being extremely lonely and isolated. Nobody in his life that he could trust. Angry at the world. Just like me. So, I began to listen. He shared that his entire life changed because he had found a true friend who was with him every minute of every day and who would never abandon him. That friend was Jesus. I thought he was crazy because all I knew of Jesus were Sunday School stories and limited church visits that I identified with formal religion. Plus, this was the era of Jim Jones and Kool Aid suicide being in the news, and I thought that my parents had gone off the deep end with their Jesus talk.
But somehow, despite my skepticism, my anger, and my lack of understanding, this man’s authenticity reached me. I knew he was speaking the truth. So, later that evening I decided to take a risk. I prayed and told Jesus that if He was real, and if He wanted to not only be my Savior, but also be my true friend forever, that I would give my heart and my life to Him. I acknowledged that I had made a mess of my life. I needed to have my sins washed clean. But I also yearned for an answer to my lifelong loneliness. Could the God of the universe really want a relationship with me? I didn’t realize at the time that Jesus himself told his disciples, “I no longer call you servants… Instead, I have called you friends” (John 15:15).
I will never forget having a supernatural experience that night when my anger left me and I felt peace I had never known before. My circumstances had not changed, but Jesus made himself so real to me in that moment that I felt His physical presence right beside me. In the many years since, I am never alone, because Jesus walks through every moment of joy or grief with me. I can truly say with David, “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me” (Psalm 23:4 NLT).
Loneliness may be a defining characteristic of our American life today, but there is an answer. His name is Jesus. He loves you. He will never abandon you. Why not ask Him to be your Savior and Friend too?