I read something on the internet recently that astonished me. It was a story about Elmo, the cuddly character on Sesame Street TV, and his question to his social media followers about how they were doing:” Elmo is just checking in. How is everybody doing?” he asked on X. The response was huge. Thousands of people including celebrities (even President Biden!) responded. The general message : “We’re sad. Our world is on fire. We’re having trouble sleeping at night. Where is this world heading?”

Isn’t it sad in itself that the outreach to our suffering world is from a puppet? And even sadder is that people are moved by this fuzzy compassion to open their hearts?

Perhaps this unprecedented relational interaction between real people and a Sesame Street “personality” is evidence of our isolation. We’re connected like never before (due to social media) and marginalized like never before. We are silos desperately in need of someone who truly cares. We are spiritual and emotional orphans. Little wonder there seems to be an epidemic of mental health issues.

We need to rediscover the promise that our Creator cares “He will never leave us nor forsake us…He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”. Indeed, “for God so loved the world…”.