A Solitary Place

40 Gifts of Lent | Gift 9

Reflections on Luke 1 – 4

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place… Luke 4: 42

I would find her there, in a secluded place alone. As a girl, I thought she needed this solitary time because she wanted to get away from us kids. But actually she needed this space to get away with God.

My childhood home always had more people living in it than the family that resided there. We had extra cots and air mattresses when there wasn’t enough beds. Our supper table had extra folding chairs squeezed between and I learned to spoon soup into my mouth with my elbows tucked into my side. Mom served us all with joy and grace as our home became a lighthouse of escape for many.

Over time, even the good things will take its toll, clamoring for peace and competing for rest. There’s the danger of pride crowding humbleness, pushing it aside…tempting us to focus on ourselves, thinking we can do it all.  We focus more on the people needing our attention, their voices wanting to be heard and the food cooking on the stove while the sheets need to be washed and the children are asking for help with homework.

All of the good busy things crowd the one best thing.

Now years later, here I am repeating her life in many ways.

I think of my Mom going to a solitary place to unwind her crowded thoughts, to be refreshed and focus her energy off of herself (and others) and instead on to Christ. Taking time to be alone with God was a gift to herself and to her family.

Thank you Mom, your life is a gift that keeps on giving long after you’ve gone.

“Solitude molds self-righteous people into gentle, caring, forgiving persons who are so deeply convinced of their own great sinfulness and so fully aware of God’s even greater mercy that their life itself becomes ministry.” ~Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart

About 40 Gifts of Lent 

I am anticipating the arrival of Easter and celebrating the most amazingly good gift I’ve ever received. I want to focus my heart on the fulfilled expectation of Christ’s first coming and the glorious expectation of His second coming. I want to focus on the freedom I have in Christ to overcome strongholds, yet also to gain strength, hope, and peace as I lean into the trials…To continue reading, please go here: 40 Gifts of Lent

Linking up at Five Minute Friday to write five minutes about the word: CROWD