Sapagkat saanman may dalawa o tatlong nagkakatipon sa pangalan ko, naroon akong kasama nila.

Mateo 18:20

Papasok ng bahay si Rowena when her three-year-old saw her from across the room and shouted, “Mama, stop! Huwag po kayong tatawid diyan, may tubig na malalim!”

Pero wala namang tubig, wala namang baha sa kanilang living room. Her three-year-old had a very vivid imagination. Rowena understood this all too well. Like her daughter, she was also an only child, and she remembered her role-playing days with her imaginary friend. Bakit nga kaya tayo ganun, ano? Gumagawa tayo ng kasama; it’s like every human soul longs for companionship.

Fast forward to twenty years after. May sarili ng buhay ang kanyang dating baby at nag-migrate na abroad. Empty nester na si Rowena, single again, mag-isa na sa buhay, at medyo madalas nang nalulungkot.

Natural naman ang maka-experience ng lungkot. But we don’t need to stay there. According to Psalm 68:6, God sets the lonely in families. And ‘family’ does not have to be blood-related. Nagkakalayo-layo ang pamilya due to new opportunities and new relationships, but that should not limit us. We can always make new friends. Let’s go and find our church family, bearing in mind that building relationships takes time. 

Ang promise ni Jesus, “Sapagkat saanman may dalawa o tatlong nagkakatipon sa pangalan ko, naroon akong kasama nila” (Mateo 18:20). Such a comforting promise, di ba? When we reach out, we don’t just gain new friends, we also enjoy God’s presence.