The Family Disciple Me Podcast // Discipleship Starts With a Conversation

THIS IS ME! | Convo #2: I Am Never Alone

• Tosha Williams for FDM

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Loneliness sneaks into playgrounds, quiet offices, and crowded airplanes—and it doesn’t spare parents or kids. Hosts Wendy Hickox and Tosha Williams open Psalm 139:7–12 and let it speak plainly: there is no corner of life beyond God’s presence. From a tiny “cloffice” (read: office in a closet) to a frightening flight with failing hydraulics, we share how peace arrived not because the circumstances were easy, but because God was near and held us fast.

We also get practical about parenting. Instead of promising what we can’t guarantee (i.e. "I'll always be with you") we offer what is always true: even when we can’t be there, God is. You’ll hear how years of simple discipleship prepared a young adult traveling abroad to face deep loneliness with courage, and how short scripts and rituals can help children remember God’s nearness at bedtime, in classrooms, and during anxious moments. We unpack why “darkness is as light” to God, and how that truth reframes fear, isolation, and the pressure to hold everything together.

Our rhythm is simple: Seek Him Speak Him. We model how to read Psalm 139 with kids, ask reflective questions, and build a weekly practice anchored in Joshua 1:9:  be strong and courageous because the Lord goes with you. Then we widen the circle, inviting families to notice those sitting alone, to reach out with kindness, and to become steady voices of hope. If loneliness is an epidemic, presence is a remedy that spreads one conversation at a time.

Subscribe to this podcast for more faith-forward conversations, share this episode with a friend who needs the reminder, and leave a review to help others find these stories of courage and comfort.

You can find the devotion-driven discipleship guide that goes along with this conversation at the Family Disciple Me app. Use it to encourage and equip you to begin a meaningful, biblical conversation with someone in your life today!

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The Family Disciple Me ministry exists to catalyze devotion driven discipleship in our homes and around the world. We believe that discipleship starts with a conversation, and FDM provides free, easily-accessible, biblical resources to encourage these meaningful conversations along life's way. Sign up through our website to be "the first to know" about upcoming releases and resources (including the FDM App - coming soon!!!) You can also follow Family Disciple Me on social media.

Family Disciple Me is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ministry, and all donations are tax deductible. More information, blogs, statement of faith and contact info can be found at familydiscipleme.org

SPEAKER_00:

Loneliness is something we all face at times. And as an elementary school teacher, I see it all the time. Even our kids. Whether they're playing alone on the playground, struggling to fit in, or dealing with something they don't know how to share, they can feel alone. But the truth is, no matter how we feel, God is always with us. That's why it's so important that we talk with our kids about this very thing. So today we're going to continue in this collection of conversations through the amazing chapter, Psalm 139. Last time we talked about the truth that I am completely known. And today we're going to talk about the second truth, which is this I am never alone. We're going to learn more about this truth from Psalm 139, verses 7 through 12. This passage is such a powerful reminder that God's presence isn't just a far-off idea. It's real and it's personal. No matter where we go or what we face, God is there. And as parents, this is one of the greatest truths we can teach our kids. They're never alone, no matter what they go through. So let's spend a few moments in conversation before we go engage this conversation with them. It really is ironic to me, Wendy, as we record this particular podcast episode about the truth. I am never alone. Well, it's ironic to me that I'm in this space and place. We're in this space and place that I very affectionately call my clofus. Yes, I know in the past we have tried to actually describe this tiny but mighty space, actually. There we go. I just don't know that there are any words for it except for clothes. Clothis. And many a day I am sitting in this tiny little space with the door open or closed, whatever the day may be like. But I'm here by myself. I'm doing the work of ministry. I'm doing the writing, I'm doing the creating, I'm doing whatever it is that God has for me on that particular day. And this space could feel kind of lonely. Other people peek in and their jaws just kind of drop because I don't think they would like to be in a space like this. But honestly, for me, the truth is that even here, I am never alone. It reminds me of going into your prayer closet. Really, if we were to be real with our audience, they're not looking in in this space. It really is a closet. It is a closet. But even in the closets of our lives or the closes, or wherever, the reality is that we are never alone. And that's the truth of what we're going to focus on right here today during this conversation. That's right. I would love to read this passage of scripture to us. And just like when I read that lengthy passage in the last podcast and said, for all of us, be still and listen to God's word. I say the same thing about this passage today as I read it. Psalm one hundred and thirty nine, verses seven through twelve says this. Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you, the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. I would love it, Tasha, if after hearing this verse we could just pause and break it down. Let's see what God is saying to us in this passage and how we can share this with our kids. Well, I don't know about you, but this passage reminds me that there's no place, no season, nowhere, no situation where God is not with me. Absolutely. I know that if we're in the highest of highs, God is there. If we're in the lowest of lows, God is also there. Even when we feel like no one sees us, God is present. That's right. And that is something that our kids need to hear. I've noticed over the years that there are parents that tell their kids, I'm never going to leave you. And that's always just struck me a little awry. Because the thing is, no matter what our best intentions are, we can't control always getting to be there with and for our kids. Because let's be honest, they're going to have lonely, alone moments. And there's nothing that we can do about that except teach them the greater truth that even when I can't be there with you or for you, God is there because you are never alone. I've been trying to teach this truth to my kids since they were very little, when they were just in elementary school, to be honest with you. And now, as they're adults, we're still talking about what this looks like and what it sounds like. I remembered not very long ago, actually, it was within the year, my son traveled out of the country to go do something that he's been working for really all of his life, since he was little, and he was in a different country. No one was speaking English, he lived by himself, and he called in Tasha. He actually said how alone he was. Well, this was the moment that I almost had been waiting for to say, hey, remember all those years that we spent in the Word talking about how God is with you. Well, it was for a moment such as this. There was no one else there with him. No one was speaking to him. He was living in a very tiny, well, not quite as tiny as this office, but actually it was a very tiny space. And that probably made him feel even more alone. But we were able to come back to Scripture and know that God was with him and using this moment to see that he wasn't actually alone. What a powerful case in point of applying this truth to the lives of the next generation and helping them understand how it relates to their day-to-day. The reality is we all experience loneliness. We all experience aloneness. As parents, we see it in our kids. But if we're honest, we feel it in our own lives. Absolutely. But here's the good news. Even in the moments when we feel most alone, well, we actually never are alone. God sees us when no one else does. God hears us when we feel unheard. God is near, even in our darkest moments. Over and over and over again in Scripture, God says, don't be afraid. I am with you. It seems to me that when we're afraid, that's when we usually feel the most alone. But the truth from God's word is that we don't have to be afraid because we are not alone. He is with us. That is such a comforting truth for us as parents and for us to share with those that God's entrusted to us with our kids. A few weeks ago, I had this moment where I was on a crowded airplane, but I didn't know anybody. I felt alone, but we had hydraulics failure, Wendy. It was a very scary circumstance. I can't imagine, actually. But I felt a peace in the midst of that because I knew that God was with me. And later, as I talked about the story with the kids and I told my family and even friends what happened, it was such a moment of feeling held by God that no matter what was about to happen with that airplane, that I wasn't alone. He was there with me. I was there with him. This truth, I am never alone. It applies to every single part of our lives. Whether we're sitting in a little space and place like this clawfis, whether we're flying along in an airplane, whether we're lying in bed scared at night as a little kid, whether we're sitting in a classroom, the reality is we're not alone. God is with us. And we can teach our kids to recognize God's presence in their everyday lives. Joshua 1.9 says, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. So with that, wherever we go this week in conversation, we have the opportunity to talk about this, Wendy. We have the opportunity to lean into this truth in our own devotions. And I encourage all of us to lean into these specific verses from Psalm 139, verses 7 through 12 this week, that we spend time and seek the Lord about what he wants to say to us through these verses. But as we always say with family disciple me, it's not just about seek him, it's also about speak him. It's about intentionally meeting with God, about what he wants to tell us in his word, and then turning around and making him known. Loneliness is something so many people struggle with, Tasha. But what if we are the parents that teach our children to be the ones to reach out to others with this truth? I can't think of anything more powerful than to learn this truth and then share it with others who then share it with others. Yes. As loneliness is an epidemic in our culture. What if that changed one person at a time? Because we, those of us listening to this, having this conversation right now, chose to seek him, speak him about this truth. We need to be intentional with our conversations with all those who are entrusted to us. So as we close this episode, I would love to pray a prayer, a blessing. Lord God, give us eyes to see the hurting. Give us ears to hear what words are communicating. I'm lonely. Give us hearts to care about what they're feeling. Lord God, as we seek you and learn how much you are with us, help us turn around and encourage others with that truth. We love you, Lord, and we're so grateful that we are never, ever alone. So I pray your blessing over every person who's listening to this episode and that your word would not return void, but would carry forth into the next generation and the generations to come. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Now, friend, go with God. You are not alone. God is with you. So now go tell someone else. Until next time.