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"Mama, do you know how much we love you? Sometimes I think you carry loneliness like an illness." Said a an anonymous Clarkson child."
Giveaway: 20 copies of Help I’m Drowning!
Loneliness has been a constant companion for me for many years. It causes me to ache inside, sometimes, bringing tears to my eyes and reveals a deep longing for community, a desire to be seen, known, and still loved.
Maybe I am flawed, maybe it is from somewhere in my past, or personality, or 19 moves! But no matter, it has been a familiar companion of mine many times over the years.
Some of this well of experiencing isolation blows through my life like a storm.
Lonely and isolated seasons have swept through my life countless times, like sudden, violent downpours with seemingly no end or hope for clear skies on the horizon. Isolation is epidemic at this time for people all over the world. In a recent survey, 51% of mothers said they felt deeply alone. Covid has created a perfect storm of loneliness through a year and a half of isolation and quarantines.
There were times of work and ministry that forced Clay to work long hours away from home, and I stayed behind with our four children, without many family, friends or support systems nearby to help me bear some of the weight. Joy had asthma each night, I had 4 growing, rambunctious children day after day... alone.
The truth is that, even with our understanding that God walks through every moment with us, that we’re never truly alone because of his unending faithfulness in our lives, we still so often feel utterly alone, unseen, and hidden beneath the dangerous waves of loneliness.
Knowing that so many of you live daily more or less on your own, providing, giving, training, keeping others alive and flourishing, makes my heart go out to you — the pain of being responsible, alone is a difficult burden to bear over days and years.
Today, I’d like to give away 20 copies of #HelpImDrowning to single women, single mothers, or military wives, or to anyone who has been struggling with isolation and loneliness.
I pray Help, I'm Drowning will help you feel seen, understood, appreciated, and give you hope that you are seen and loved, right where you are.
The truth is, your life is exceedingly important, you do matter, you are deeply loved. I pray many of you will find companionship in the year ahead.
I wish I could give away 1000 copies, but if you do not win, You can preorder your copy of Help I’m Drowning today.
