Ten Days of Solitude

We are about half way through our World Race trip and to sum it all up in one word – AMAZING!

 

But, amongst the one word descriptions, there are certainly a slew of tough times. To get honest, I admit I’ve been having a tough time on this trip lately. Before I go into detail, I can go ahead and weed out what is NOT contributing to the tough time:

Any person(s) in particular, my marriage, Adventures in Missions, health or safety.

 

Going on to what IS contributing… it is pretty simple and I’ve been able to break it down to two things in particular:

 

1. COMMUNITY LIVING (as a “married): It is a no-brainer that being married and living with 30 other people can be tough. But actually, the only reason has come up recently – when our team was all living out of one room, leaving us without privacy and really, no where to go to be alone. After an entire month of living in the same room with 5 other people, we pinpointed it to be the main source of frustration, problems and bitterness within the two of us. But, I can vouch for AIM and assure married couples who are future World Racers, this is not usually the case, rather just the way things worked out. Up until last month, we were blessed to have our own room almost every night.

 

2. My independence from God has been something that has been lurking in the shadows my whole life. At times, probably often than not, I tend to act/think/speak through situations on my own instead of seeking God for guidance and wisdom. To spare us all the time on details of what this entails (because we have all lived this life of independence at some point… probably most of us still), I will go on to share what God has prompted me to do about it…

 

The Lord spoke to me recently with the words from the song, “Come Away With Me” by Nora Jones, and it was never so clear until that moment how gracefully God pursues me. It was such a loving response to my lack of faith and disobedience in living independently from Him. The words were so gentle and inviting, I couldn’t help but fall away into a day dream of what it would be like to go away with God for a period of time… to get away from the daily distractions of this world… to find a place where I can listen… and hear about the beautiful pursuit he has on my life.

 

After sharing this with Johnny, my team and some close friends, I was sure that a time of solitude with the Lord was inevitable. I had no doubt that this was what God was asking of me. So, the next step – how do I do that? Well, at first glance, the idea seemed like just a day dream. Our squad was entering into an intense 10 day period of outreach amongst ethnic minorities inside of London, absolutely nothing about it said “solitude”.  But, the idea brought so much peace to my soul that I persisted. And at this point, it was no longer just myself sharing the need for this time, but Johnny as well.

 

So, Johnny and I requested permission (from team, squad, squad leader, and coaches) for ten days of solitude, beginning December 14th (today) and ending Tuesday, December 23rd. With permission granted from all, the Lord continued to provide with a quiet place for us to stay. Not knowing how in the world to carry this out, we’ve been given guidance from our coaches, Seth and Karen Barnes, with a specific schedule to follow that will not only allow for us to come to the Lord as one in marriage, but a primary focus seeking the Lord individually.

 

This is what the next ten days looks like for us:

 

First 3 days – Sunday, Dec. 14th – Tuesday, Dec. 16th

• Do nothing
• Hang out, sleep, relax
• Read Bible and pray only as I feel led
• Journal as led
• Read a novel/book if I want to
• No talking to Johnny, mostly no deep conversations

Next 3 days – Wednesday, Dec. 17th – Friday, Dec. 19th

• Intentional solitude and silence
• Focus my affections on the Lord
• No talking, at all
• Ask the Lord what He plans for me during this time
• Set goals related to what the Lord says
• Spend a lot of time reading scriptures
• Read a book of the Bible, over and over again, letting the words sink in
• Schedule a specific time of the day when I will approach the Lord with my worries and concerns

Last 4 days – Saturday, Dec. 20th – Tuesday, Dec. 23rd

• First half of the day – individual retreat
• Second half of the day – sharing and pressing into the Lord with Johnny.