We're Not the Only One
- Richard Selke
- Jan 28
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 18
January 29, 2025
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In his book, Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey, actor, author and Longhorns fan, tells a story about when he went on a walk with one of the brothers at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert near Abiquiu, New Mexico:
“I met Brother Christian and we went for a long walk in the desert. I unloaded my feelings of guilt, the low and lecherous places my mind had been traveling, the perverseness of my thoughts … I professed, ‘I’ve tried to be a good man, to not lie and deceive myself, to be more pure of heart and mind but … I do not feel a connection to my past nor see the path to my future, I’m lost. I don’t feel myself.’
“I shared the demons of my mind for three and a half hours with Brother Christian … He did not say a word. Not. One. He just patiently listened as we wandered side by side through the desert.
“At hour four we found ourselves back at the chapel sitting on a bench just outside the entrance. Now weeping, I eventually came to the end of my confession. We sat in silence while l awaited Christian’s judgment. Nothing. Finally, in the unrest of the stillness, I looked up. Brother Christian, who hadn’t said one word to me this entire time, looked me in the eyes and in almost a whisper, said to me,
“‘Me, too.’
“Sometimes we don’t need advice. Sometimes we just need to hear we’re not the only one.”
I wept when I read this story as I thought about the wisdom and implications in those two simple words – “Me, too!”
Many of us deal with problems, bad habits and addictions, some short-lived, others lifelong. We feel guilty and ashamed. We try to hide them from others and sometimes even from ourselves. We think we are alone, that no one else has ever dealt with whatever it is we’re dealing with. We don’t trust anyone to talk with about it because we have learned to not trust others with our secrets. Sometimes that lack of trust is well-founded. There are people we have trusted in the past who have betrayed our trust and have hurt us.
We are all human; therefore, we are all sinners. We all fall short. We all miss the mark. We aren’t sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners – every one of us. I once heard a pastor say at the end of a worship service, “Go and sin occasionally – but repent often.”
Take a step of faith and ask God to guide you to someone you can trust. Someone you can share your secrets with. Someone who will walk with you. Someone with whom you can have a safe relationship that will lead to your healing.
And that problem, bad habit or sin that you’re so ashamed of – you’re not the only one. There is someone out there, someone who has struggled with the very same issue and experienced the same feelings you now feel. Perhaps that someone is still struggling with whatever the issue might be. Perhaps that someone has struggled and has overcome it.
We often find ourselves wrestling with guilt, shame, or feelings of inadequacy. Matthew McConaughey’s story reminds us of a fundamental truth – we are never alone in our struggles, no matter how isolated or lost we may feel. No matter how heavy our burdens, Jesus carried them to the cross. He died for our sins so that we could have life and healing. Through Christ, we find grace and strength to move forward, knowing that we are fully known and deeply loved.
Brother Christian played a very important role in his conversation with Matthew – he just listened! And when he finally did speak, he spoke powerful words: “Me, too!”
Like Matthew said, “Sometimes we don’t need advice. Sometimes we just need to hear we’re not the only one.”
REMEMBER & BELIEVE
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
In the meantime, we're not the only one.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank You for walking with us in our struggles and for the gift of Your grace that covers all our sins. Help us to trust You and open our hearts to someone who can listen and guide us in love. Lead us into relationships that reflect Your compassion and bring healing to our souls. Remind us daily that we are never alone because You are with us and have placed us in Your family of believers.
Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NRSV)
God bless you!
Richard
Christ Worshipper | Disciple Maker | Hope Giver
Welcome to In the Meantime. I'm glad you're here! We are living in the time between Christ's ascension into heaven and His promised return to earth. In the Meantime is a collection of stories about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and His presence, love, mercy and grace in my life. In the Meantime, Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!
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