*Last week I started reviewing some old Bible study notes, and shared Mary Tabb's thoughts on finding Silence. Today's notes are a continuation of that lesson.
Solitude: evidently, it's important and biblical.
Now when it was evening, after the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those under the power of demons, until the whole town was gathered together about the door.
And He cured many who were afflicted with various diseases; and He drove out many demons, but would not allow the demons to talk because they knew Him.
And in the morning, long before daylight, He got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed.
In this passage from Mark, take note of the demands on Jesus. We as mothers feel the stress and dependence of little ones and <sometimes!> spouses. How about the stress and demands He felt? In The Message's translation of this passage, it says the "whole city" lined up at His door! But He took care of them, and the next morning, He sought out solitude with His Lord.
Reasons for finding daily solitude:
- Getting away from the demands of your schedule.
- Getting away from our own expectations and the expectations of others (less do, do, do and more be, be, be)
- Discovering our OWN thoughts
- Filtering out the non-essentials
- Finding our OWN PACE
- Taking time to rest and regroup
- Using the opportunity to call or recall OUR calling in life, our vision, our mission
- Reestablishing what I think/believe is important
- Gaining perspective on what my family's needs are
- Prioritizing what I think/believe is important
- Being more attentive to God
My worshipping God and communicating with God is sometimes limited to Sunday morning. That kind of communication isn't too great for developing or discovering a lot of the things on the list above. Ouch.
My favorite one is #2. (Less do, do, do. More be, be, be.)
And #11.
And #4.
I need to stop. They're all good and important.
The last part of this lesson is about how God speaks to us. Mary emphasized to us that without the Silence and Solitude, it's going to be mighty hard to hear Him. I'll give myself a week or so to think about that one and prepare to "open" my ears.
Where do you go for silence and solitude?
*That's Uncle C. in Hawaii last year.
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