18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

I have an “anxious attachment style,” which means that I am afraid of abandonment, frequently seek reassurance that I am loved, and stress out when I am left by myself for too long. Therefore statements like “it is not good that the man should be alone” ring very true to me!

Now I have been learning how to take those insecurities to God instead of other people, as He is the only one that can answer them in the deepest parts of my heart. He is able to bring me to a place of grounded authenticity that no one else can. But even when I am in that authentic place, I do still feel that need for human connection, for a companion, for an equal partner, for a complement to my mind and heart. Between the extreme of “anxious attachment” and the other extreme of “avoidant attachment” there is that happy middle ground of “secure attachment” which all of us need to fully thrive.

And as wonderful as animals are, they cannot meet that need. Perhaps they can relate to us in what it means to be a living thing, but not in what it means to be human. We were crafted to need other people, to need friends, and to need a soulmate.