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Jesus got up and went to a place where he could be alone and pray.
Mark 1:35 (CEV)

Four boys at a summer camp for a week.

I had looked forward to this all summer and this morning it was here! I was supposed to LOVE this! For the first time in my five years since losing Tom, I had the house to myself for a full week! Woohoo! The prayer time I’d have with God. The projects I’d get done! The writing! The organizing! The…

. . . silence

Ladies, that first day after the kids flew off on their adventure, I climbed the walls, asking myself, why is this so hard? Can I really do this alone? And…

Is this what it will be like when they grow up and move out?

I knew all about the enemy and his plans to derail me from my purpose. I had a purpose—I had goals to meet that week with uninterrupted time. I had told myself I wouldn’t be tempted into calling friends and filling my time with social calls. In my early years of grieving that was appropriate. That week, I wanted to move forward.

But in response to my determination, the enemy stepped up his game. Regina called. “Come hang out by my pool with me.” Oh, that was tempting. She’s so godly and full of wisdom. Maybe for just a little? No, child. This is your time to focus.

Okay, God. I’m back to my purpose.

Then Ellen called, “You don’t have the kids this week! Let’s have coffee!”

Oh, Ellen is so incredible. The mission work she does and her love for her four adopted children with special needs. If she could carve time out of her crazy schedule for me, how could I say no? Because I’m asking you to, my child.

Okay, God. I’m back to my purpose.

Ladies, I wanted to share with you that moment when I felt so inspired by the Lord to walk forward, alone, without the crowd around me, to complete a work He had for me. To pull away from the noise, and not be deterred from His plan.

There were times when the Lord wanted me to hold back, mingle with the supportive crowd, and take in nourishment. And there were times when He asked me to reach out to encourage others. And then there were times when He asked me to step forward alone to continue on His plan for my day with Him and only Him.

Take comfort, sisters, in that when Jesus walked this earth, while He surrounded Himself intentionally among those He wished to minister to and those who supported Him, He also took time to be alone with His Father.

Try it sometime, you might feel what I felt after even just one day of forcing myself to walk alone with only God speaking to me throughout the day–serenity!

There’s a neat poem written by a secular poet, Tanya Davis, encouraging you to learn the art of being alone: How to Be Alone. This is what my week felt like. I was relearning the art of being alone.

Lord, can you help my sisters learn to appreciate their time alone with You? How Your Son took time while walking this earth to be alone with You? Help her to not only recognize the healthiness of having time alone but to also know how the enemy will try to steal it from her with doubt. Show her You are in those moments of solitude and help them to embrace Your presence in those moments. Amen.