Ruminations On Solitude

    Let’s be honest, you’re life isn’t that busy. I know, you have so much going on; school, marriage, bills, driving to work, working, fixing the leak, cleaning the room, homework, depositing the check , feeding the dog, eating, sleeping, watching TV, watching funny videos, playing games, cooking dinner, doing the laundry, talking to your siblings, talking to your mom, catching up with old friends, washing the dishes, mowing the lawn, shoveling the sidewalk, raking, shaving, smoking, drinking, hanging out, grocery shopping, exercising, getting gas, the list is endless, isn’t it?
    WRONG. On the contrary, people have much more time given to them in a day than they realize, even without taking anything away from it! Would the world explode if you reserved ten minutes out of your day to go into solitude instead of catching those crucial last moments of sleep in the morning? Wait just one minute here, did you just say solitude? What do you mean solitude?
    Solitude is a spiritual discipline to enter into God’s presence through prayer and meditation. Does that mean this is the only way to feel His presence? Absolutely not. However, it is a beneficial (and intensely difficult) practice to begin. I, like you, am not good at it. I have tried and failed, horribly mind you, pretty much every time I attempt it. I will admit that freely, and write this as a charge to both you and myself. But why is that? Why do humans fail? As Henri Nouwen put it, “we are bombarded by thousands of thoughts and feelings that emerge from hidden areas of our minds.” This makes us think ‘well this is impossible! I can’t focus on anything! This is just a waste of my time. I could be doing those other things right now instead of pretending to meditate.’
    My reaction to this is simple. Assuming that you love God and are a professing Christian, how dare you, in this good created Earth given to you as a gift, let anything take precedence over God in your life!? Does it not sound utterly ridiculous, put in the correct worldview? This world is not yours. That wallet is not yours. That house is not yours. Those kids are not yours. That time is not yours. That life is not yours! It was all given as a gift, for you to be a steward over. We literally owe everything to God, but only Christ could pay the price. How could you not possibly want to even attempt to be in a relationship with that!?
    Start small, humbly. As Thomas Merton said of meditation, “We do not want to be beginners. But let us be convinced of the fact that we will never be anything else but beginners.” Take the time to enter into that solitude, that meditation. Because, let’s be honest, that time isn’t even really yours in the first place. Give it back. What authority do you have to say you will never hear God, if you never actually try it?