Most of my adult life, regretfully, has been lived in the fast lane… even as I desired to serve God, I was pretty sure that 24 hours was not enough time in the day – until “2014”. That’s what I call the season I came to the very end of myself.

There were several layers of stress, grief and difficulty in that season. One of them was my beloved Aunt Ruth dying in one room of the skilled nursing center and my father in the room next door. For him, he began a long decline and never lived independently afterwards. I had a son deployed with a baby on the way, another son and family living in a country with civil war, a daughter working in a ministry overseas and another daughter preparing to study abroad.  I had so many different emotions – I became numb to them all. I was like a rubber band stretched to its limits and about to snap.

Out of desperation I intentionally sought the practice of solitude. All I knew is that lots of people in the Bible spent time in the “wilderness” and seemed to come out anchored with hope. Besides, there are over 30 references in the gospels of Jesus practicing solitude for rest and prayer.

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. Mark 6:30-31

I was so desperate, I went to a friend’s ranch on a hot August day, sat on a rock and poured out my heart to God and then listened for His voice. And He spoke into my soul.

It was so transformative, I have continued the practice ever since. I am so passionate about accepting Jesus’ invitation to “Come to me…” that I now facilitate solitude retreats on our family’s ranch in North Texas.  What a privilege to create space for others to commune with God in the silence and solitude – away from the distractions and demands of home, work and ministry. I pray that if you aren’t already familiar with this important spiritual practice, that 2022 will be the beginning for you to accept Jesus’ invitation to rest in Him.