Words to Treasure
But I am always with you. You hold me by my right hand.
Psalm 73:23
Pete climbed the hill that overlooked the playground. This wasn’t his playground, and the kids below weren’t his friends. Nothing good had happened since they moved here. Nobody talked to him at school. He was Mr. Invisible. Would he ever fit in? Pete climbed an oak tree to sit and watch the world go by, while he kept on being invisible. Being alone in a tree felt better than being ignored in a crowd.
Everybody, no matter how popular they seem, feels alone sometimes. But we can’t let that feeling take over our lives, because it will grow bigger and bigger. How do we shrink feelings of loneliness? Get out of your loneliness tree and go say hi to somebody instead of waiting for them to say it first. You’ll be surprised at what might happen. Go out and take a karate class or join the swim club. Loneliness makes us think about ourselves all the time, so don’t get caught up in it. Go out and think about other people by volunteering to help others. God’s calling you out of your tree. Climb down and meet the world.
People in Bible Times
Zacchaeus the tax collector couldn’t see over the crowd, so he climbed a tree to get a better look at Jesus. Jesus stopped, called to Zacchaeus, and told him to climb down out of the tree. Some amazing things happened after Zacchaeus climbed out of that tree. You can read about it in the Bible (see Luke 19:1 – 10).