I once heard it said that our feeling of loneliness is God's cry for intimacy with us. Whether this is true or not, I find myself leaning on it and thinking about it more and more. Times are lonely. Times are a bit rough, but I know that Jesus is longing to meet with me.

I've been reading about trials and testing in the Bible and how, through the Holy Spirit, they bring about holiness in us. I find that as I read this there is a quiet, "yes" that resounds in my heart. I want to be perfected in holiness. I want to become more like Jesus. And sometimes that means that I am alone. Me and Jesus, working on the "self" in my life. Boy, does it get hard though. I find that I am so quick to let people fix me. I am so eager to make the hurt go away, to stop the discomfort of the purification process.

I pray that I become more like Jesus, long suffering and patient, so that I can submit to the Lord and let Him bring about His plans and purposes in my heart and life.