Our world teems with beauty and opportunity. There is much good here. But it is not our home. We are exiles in this place, sojourners passing through on our way to a new and better world. Lest we forget this reality and seek more from our natural life than it can ever give, we are haunted by loneliness. Every person has experienced loneliness, and it is an ever present ghost within us. There are times when we cannot deny its presence. Times when the noise of life quiets and we are alone with our thoughts and our fears and our longings. Many of us spend much effort avoiding such times. Yet it is precisely those moments when we receive the clearest sign from the heavens. God is speaking in our loneliness. And he is telling us that all the love and care of our families and dearest friends cannot rescue us from this exile. He is telling us that we were made for much closer contact than even these relationships can provide. He is calling us into his very being. He is calling us home. Loneliness is holy, indeed.