Solitude 

   “Settle yourself in solitude and you will come upon God in yourself.” St. Teresa of Avila 

   Had someone told me a few years ago that I would grow to love solitude I would not have believed them.  But they would have been prophetic; I now find solitude one of the greatest of graces that God has bestowed upon me.

   My home is mostly quiet these days.  I used to have the television on whether I was watching it or not, simply to have noise in the house.  Now I find the silence much more peaceful; the television is rarely even thought of these days.  I find that I miss it hardly at all.

   I enjoy the love and company of my family.  The love and fellowship of my friends is a tremendous blessing.  These things are and will remain some of the high points of my life.

   Still, in the quiet and solitude of my home is where I am closest to God in a way that is not possible anywhere else.  I converse with Him, share my joys and my sorrows with Him.  I seek His will and the strength to carry it out.  In the silence I listen though I rarely hear a word in response.  But in my heart and in my soul, He speaks to me in ways I do not understand.