Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” Genesis 2:18

Aside from the devastating consequences of sickness and death that this pandemic has wreaked on the world is something even more widespread that has affected us all, and that is the isolation that has been the result of protecting ourselves and others from the spread of the virus. There is a long-term effect to this that may not always be obvious, but it nevertheless is there.

We’re not hugging; we’re not meeting for lunch; A.A. meetings are shut down; church is virtual; shopping has gone online; heck, we hardly ever even see our neighbors; we’re just not getting out. We’re overworking our delivery services in order to stay safe. The result of this for some is long periods of loneliness.

This means different things to different people depending on whether you are an outgoing, gregarious person or a more singular, independent one. The latter may not even notice the change, because they thrive on having their own time to themselves anyway (I know all about this.) In fact, they might welcome having an excuse for the isolation they would choose anyway. Still, isolation, in the long term, can never be good for anyone.

So what do we do? We get creative. We discover the value of virtual relationships.

I just spent an hour this morning with two of our Vanguard members on zoom. Normally a Bible study, we turned our hour today into sharing and prayer, and apart from the touching, there was nothing I missed from being together in person. It was no different from finding ourselves in someone’s living room or around the lunch table. We laughed; we cried; we prayed; and we felt the touch in our hearts, if not in a hug or a handshake. It’s unfortunate that this is what we get, but it’s closer to being together in person than you think.

Because, you see, these relationships, though virtual, are no less real. This is important. These are real relationships supported by various technologies whether Zoom, or FaceTime, or Skype, or even Facebook, email, text and phone — all of these support real relationships in real time. And what do you think? Is the Holy Spirit present too? Of course. Wherever we are, there is the Holy Spirit. How could God possibly be more limited than we are?

And be conscious of connecting to those who might not have the Holy Spirit yet. This is where the internet is a great tool. We can be one-on-one with any number of people. That’s what we count on here at the Catch — being one-on-one with thousands.

As God concluded after creating Adam, it is not good for man to be alone. And that goes for all of us, male and female. Figure it out. There is much we can do. Who knows? Maybe you can take your relationships deeper than you could in person. There’s a little built-in protection in the computer screen; in some cases, it may be even easier to open your heart.

So this isolation can and must be overcome. If we don’t overcome this, then we let the devil (who some think caused this virus in the first place) win. And who wants to do that?