I had homework last week for my small group. As part of the study we’re doing, we were supposed to spend at least an hour (but preferably a half day) alone with God. Right. Sure. With my schedule. Well, guess what, my schedule miraculously opened up last Monday so that I could take the afternoon off and go spend some time with God. Go figure….
I wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn’t know what God was going to do with me…or even if he’d meet me there at all. There was the chance that I’d get to the park and I’d sit for a few hours and nothing would happen. There was the chance I’d get there and my life would be so insistent that I couldn’t put it aside in my mind long enough to connect with God. There was the chance that it would all be a waste.
I decided that what I really wanted most was to sit by myself by the water and eat my lunch. Somehow food seems better outside. I found a quiet spot on the wall by the creek and I sat and ate. The sound of the water and the feel of the warm breeze on my face slowly washed away my day, dissolved the worries and fears and urgencies that always cram their way into my mind and push out God. It was very peaceful. I watched some ducks swimming and thought about how simple their life was compared with mine. I saw a man wading in the creek with his grandson and smiled; that’s what life really boils down to—spending time with the people who matter most to you, having relationships. They’re the only things that we take with us to heaven anyway.
I sat for a while then under a tree just clearing my mind, connecting with God, being alone with the Creator of the Universe. So many thoughts began to come to me about my spiritual walk with Him; I have a list of blog ideas now that will last me a while. Insights about His creation, about spending time with him, with my kids, with my friends, about what love is, and joy, and peace, and priorities.
But the thought that surrounded it all was that everything boils down to my relationship with Him. Everything else is just there to support it, or enhance it, or as a result of that relationship. Everything I do should be with that relationship in mind. And the only way the relationship grows and develops is through time spent together.
I also realized—again, actually, because this was not a new idea, just one that I’d forgotten about—that my relationship with him only grows when I spend dedicated time with Him…alone. It works for any relationship, really. My time in church, doing ministry, in small groups and Bible studies is important and a big part of my growth as a Christian, but I don’t grow closer to God without spending time with just the two of us. To get to know my wife, my kids, my friends, I can’t rely just on group gatherings or passing hellos in the hallway. I need to find focused time just for each individual person.
So my goal for this week is to begin carving out time first for God, then for my family, then for friends, and making all of them a dedicated priority. Everything else has to be built around that.
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