Solitude

10-22-2009
Solitude

I have a good friend of mine that literally disappears for about a month or so during the fall of each year. I’ve learned to stop calling him, as he’s not going to answer, and he certainly isn’t going to return a phone call…until a month later. It’s hilarious; out of the blue he will literally call me back a month or so later as if I never called him. My first response is something along the lines of, “Are you okay? Where have you been? I was worried about you.” His response goes something along the lines of, “Hey man what’s up? Things are great here!” After a back and forth conversation about how he hadn’t called me back for a while, he mentioned to me the importance of vacating and escaping the world. He feels it’s important to get away from everything and reflect on his life. Therefore, I no longer worry about his disappearing act, as I know exactly what he’s doing. About January, I know I will hear from him again. I’ve learned a lot from my buddies approach, and I’ve learned to adopt a version of this in my life. I won’t leave for months, but I do go on vacations with my wife on a frequent basis. This allows me to focus on both my wife, and to reflect on what I’m doing and where I want to go with respect to business, relationships, etc. I’m amazed at the impact a vacation does on my mental, spiritual, and emotional well being. I come home from vacations ready to rock and roll!

As we read Matthew chapter 14:13, we understand Jesus’ perspective on vacating:

“When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.”

Once Jesus heard that John the Baptist was beheaded by King Herod’s orders, he vacated to reflect on the situation. If Jesus feels it’s important to have alone time shouldn’t we? Of course! We all need time in our lives to turn the cell phones and computers off, and to allow ourselves to seek peace and clarity. In order to have clear thought, peace, and undistracted thoughts, we need to vacate. Life moves so quickly, thus we need to MAKE time to slow down and gather our thoughts. Make time for solitude or you will wish you had.

Application:
1. Read Matthew 14:13-14
2. Make time for solitude.