This month, Harvard University released a study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

on levels of loneliness among Americans.

As you'd probably guess, the results weren't very encouraging.

And yet the number and types of people struggling with loneliness right now is nevertheless shocking.

In our interview today, I'm talking with Lydia Brownback on what this study reveals about the real causes of our loneliness

and what scripture has to say about it.

She also shares about her experiences with the pandemic and its effects on her social life as a single person,

and how Christians can rally together and support one another in the wake of two years of social isolation, masks, and lockdowns.

Lydia is a Bible teacher, an editor, and the author of a number of books, including

Finding God in My Loneliness from Crossway. Let's get started.

Well, Lydia, thank you so much for joining me again on the Crossway podcast. It's great

to be back with you, Matt. Yeah, it's fun to get to reconnect this time apart at a distance,

but still really good to chat.

We always have good conversations on this podcast.

Yeah, for sure. Well, just this month, Harvard University published a study that they ran

related to loneliness in the U.S. during this COVID pandemic that we've been living through

together. And I want to read

their summary of their findings, and here you respond to that. So they write, our new report

suggests that 36% of all Americans, including 61% of young adults and 51% of mothers with young children feel serious loneliness.

Loneliness appears to have increased substantially since the outbreak of the global pandemic.

Are you surprised by those numbers?

Not at all. In fact, I would say that probably they were in place before the pandemic, and it just

...