The Peace of Solitude

   “and after the fire a still small voice.  And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.” (1 Kings 19: 12).

   I find God in the quiet and silence.  He is there as He was to Elijah in the still small voice.  This isn’t to say the He’s not everywhere and in everything, it’s just where I find it easiest to commune with Him.  God doesn’t usually yell at me, He quietly guides me.  It is my responsibility to listen for His guidance and to follow it.

   Finding quiet in our world is not an easy task.  It seems there’s always noise and commotion of some kind.  I can easily understand the early Christians who went to the mountains and even the desert to live in solitude with God.  Today there are still many who seek this life.  They become cloistered Nuns or Monks and remove themselves from the world to devote their lives to prayer and God.

   In my life I’ve found the solitude I seek in many ways.  I see God in the stars visible on a moonless night at sea or far from city lights.  I’ve often found Him on silent retreats, perhaps all alone late at night in the chapel.  Very early in the morning before the world is awake God is in the peace and quiet.  This is my favorite time for reading and communing with Him.  The squirrels, rabbits and birds begin to move about looking for food.  I can sit quietly and watch them at play and enjoy the miracle of God’s creation.

   I recall sitting under a huge oak tree on a farm.  Doing nothing but enjoying the day.  I could smell the apple blossoms in the small orchard and hear the birds singing.  In the distance I could hear my children running and playing in the freedom they found at the farm.  These quiet times are filled with the wonders of God.

   I’ve found that some of the greatest things I’ve learned of God were discovered in times like these.  The beauty of His creation, the wonders of this world He has given us are most evident to me in the quiet and solitude.

   For many years I’ve taken an annual silent retreat in order to reconnect with the God of quiet and silence.  Those are the times when I can refocus myself and clear away the concerns and bothers of this world.  On those occasions when I’ve been unable to take the retreat I’ve felt the loss of that solitude.

   I was once asked why I go on these retreats.  I replied that they give me a chance to take out the trash that can clutter my spiritual life and my relationship with God.  Like Elijah I find God in the still, small voice.