Dennis Rainey: What does it mean to be isolated?
Guest:To be isolated … to be separated from, to be lonely, lost. To be isolated from a person close is a desperate place.
Dennis Rainey: A few years back, I was writing a book, and working on a chapter on isolation in marriage. My oldest daughter Ashley was 10 years old at the time and I asked her if she knew what "isolation" meant. I may be a bit prejudiced, but I think her answer was profound, she responded "that's when somebody excludes you daddy."
Husbands excluding wives and wives excluding husbands is exactly what happens when loneliness and isolation infect a marriage. The irony is that no two people marry with any intention of being isolated from one another. Most of them feel that marriage is the cure for loneliness.
One final thought. Unless husband and a wife work together to keep it at bay, they will face the real possibility of someday knowing the discouragement, anger, and pain of isolation. Will you say no to isolation by staying involved in your mate's life today?
I'm Dennis Rainey, and that's Real Family Life.
