About 17 years ago (wow it seems like only yesterday), before I was saved, I stopped at a horrendous traffic accident. The truck was in danger of catching on fire so I pulled this guy out of his truck and he was bleeding from everywhere. He died as I held him in my arms and I kept crying, “I don’t know how to stop all the bleeding”. That event was a defining moment in my life.

I often feel the same way as I work in urban areas and watch youth make horrible decisions. I see them choose drugs, gangs, crime and sex as their way out but those just really lead them in deeper. Just this week I have seen one die, one tell me she is pregnant, and one join a gang. All three had shut me out of their lives prior to these events. I can tell how well a youth, either from Mission Raleigh or Mt. Vernon, is doing in their walk with the Lord by their proximity to me. The youth who I really help are not all about getting “stuff” from me but are allowing me to help them. They listen when I tell them hard stuff as well as when I tell them positive stuff.

The cross we often bare is one of perceived loneliness. As a Christian all loneliness is only perceived since Jesus told us in Matthew 28:20, “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” but as my friend Kevin Moore will tell you, “Perception is stronger than reality.” So when you hit that season of perceived loneliness, as I have right now, remind yourself that Jesus is in this with you for the long haul.