b'TestifyN O L O N G E R A L O N Eby Sereen Gualtieri, Citygate Network database managerGod sets the lonely in families. Psalm 68:6 The loneliness that once defined me became the doorway into community. God used His For much of my life, the story I lived underWord and His people to teach me what family sounded like this:I am alone in the world. really looks likeand to show me that leader-ship doesnt come from self-reliance, but from I learned early how to survivehow to achieve,surrendered trust.how to strive, how to carry myself without need-ing anyone. Independence wasnt a strength asEven now, when the path feels unclear and the much as it was armor. If love had to be earned,future feels fuzzy, this truth remains steady: I would earn it. If help wasnt coming, I wouldI am not alone. figure it out myself. And neither are you.But one night, after trauma exposed just Sometimes clarity doesnt come as a full plan. It how fragile that armor was, I encountered a comes as a next faithful step, taken in commu-different story. nity, with a God who promises to lead.Alone in a quiet dorm room, I opened a BibleREFLECTION: for the first timenot looking for answers, justWhere have you learned to survive alone that relief. There, in the words of Jesus, I foundGod may be inviting you to live connected?something I had never known: peace thatsur-passedmy understanding. The warm and lovingPRAYER: presence of God. Father God, Thank You for meeting us in our loneliness and That night marked the beginning of a newcalling us Your own. Help us release the need reality. I was no longer spiritually orphaned.to strive, control, or prove ourselves, and teach I was being adopted. us how to rest in Your love. Where our vision feels unclear, give us trust. Where our hearts God didnt just save mefrommy past. Hefeel weary, give us community. Lead us gently redeemed it. The pain that once shaped my fearinto the story You are still writing. became the very place compassion was born.Amen.59 INSTIGATE|January/February|2026'