Gloria to God:

Dear God, Nancy wanted me to ask you a universal question. She wrote: "I have been desiring more intimacy with friends. I protect myself by keeping people at a distance. How can I allow people to get closer to me? I want to heal the past hurts and allow myself to let others come closer to me, and I really don't know how to do it."

God:

My beloved Nancy, do less. Be. Your key word here is allow, let.

Your intention may well suffice. Don't pull someone to you. Leave space for them. Don't control the friendship.

Make a list of the people you would genuinely like to be closer to, see more of, relate to on a deeper level, have as confidantes. Make this list from your heart, not your mind. When finished, kiss the list and tuck the paper in a book, and forget about it.

The second thing to do is listen a lot. More silence. Less haste.

You, too, like Gloria, hold on to the past. She, the sweeter parts, and you the less sweet.

Be truthful, but don't talk about the past. Don't pin your past into others' minds.

Closer to people is good. Closer to yourself is meritorious. Closer to yourself is closer to Me. I must tell you, without conceit, that closeness to Me surpasses all.

To know you, Nancy, is a wonderful thing. You are a shining ray dimmed only by fear.

I think by closeness, you may mean closer to truth. You show great confidence. You seem certain about things. As with so many of My children, it's important to you to be right.

Surrender to truth. Save your energy. Look into people's eyes and listen.

There is a lot of contradiction on how to have closer relationships, but I am telling you to give more to yourself and to give less of yourself away to others. Do less. Be more.

Don't give yourself away for crumbs of love, for the appearance of love. Don't pay so much for love, Nancy. It can't be bought.

Keep your truth. Truth is not of the past. Past events are not truth. Leave the past and come to present.

I have bathed you in a river of love. I have bathed you in a river of acceptance. Accept yourself, and others will flock.

Yes, let's work on your closeness to yourself. Do not defend. There is nothing to defend. Do not beseech either.

Your question was beautiful. You expressed what you want, and you expressed it for all the Heavenreaders. There is not one who does not desire greater closeness, greater love.

The world makes much importance of the social. I make much of people. I make much of you, dear Nancy. Come a little closer to Me. I am truly what you want.

Look to Me for love. Then look to yourself. And then to friends.

How much someone likes you isn't so important as you think.

Let your heart rest where it lands, and be easy about it.

Look what you create from clay, Nancy. From clay from the ground, you create beautiful pots. From the depths of the earth and the depth of your heart, your hands create with joy, and that is how love is generated.

One more thing I want to tell you. It is very good to see truth. To straighten the disarray in your heart is to clear the path to all you desire.

Gloria to Mother Divine:

Dear Mother Divine, what will you say?

Mother Divine:

I say closeness with others is a mirage. I say God is right. Look for closeness within yourself where He is.

Honesty is closeness. Truth fills your heart. No amount of outer attention fills it, or fills it for long.

Truth stays in the heart. Truth aligns.

Gloria:

Dear Mother Divine, does wanting greater closeness mean we're lonely?

Mother Divine:

Yes. Lonely and longing. But, in truth, the loneliness and the longing are for God. Having a hundred close friends does not delay loneliness. It distracts, it covers, but it does not remove the ache of loneliness for God.

Closeness is knowing Oneness. That is brotherhood. That is peace.