Former England Football Captain, David Beckham, recounts being sent off in the 1998 World Cup Finals: “It was probably the longest walk in my life… looking back I’m not sure what thoughts were going through my mind: it was a swirl of fear, guilt, anger, worry and confusion. My head was spinning… I walked into the dressing room. The rules stated that I had to stay in there for the remainder of the match. England lost. We were out of the World Cup.
When the England players came back into the dressing room, no one breathed a word to me. There was almost complete silence. I could feel my stomach tightening even more. I gulped, breathed in, and gulped again. I was in a packed changing room but I had never felt so lonely in my life. I was isolated and afraid… I was trapped in my own sense of guilt and anxiety.”
God does not intend for you to be lonely and isolated. God created you for spiritual companionship – calling you into relationship with him and with other human beings.
Loneliness is one of the greatest problems facing humanity today. That’s not how God intended it. We must find alternatives to isolation that include safe people and spiritual companions committed to furthering their formation in Christ. The notion that we can go it alone is a dangerous one filled with traps and pitfalls that lead to disasters and ultimately poor choices.
God made us for relationships…
….and he made relationships for us. He created us to be connected to him and to live our lives in community with others. Despite the fractures that can occur from differences of opinion or perspective, friendship is truly one of God’s greatest gifts to us.
And that’s the Memo from our upcoming book Embracing Brokenness.
