Sometimes our lives can feel like we are on a hamster wheel.  We are exerting a lot of energy and yet go nowhere.  That is when the discipline of silence and solitude can help us get centered (or recentered) on what matters most.  Author Ruth Haley Barton says if we don’t take the time to sit in God’s presence, we are “like a jar of river water all shaken up. What you need is to sit still long enough so the sediment can settle and the water can become clear.”

There was a time in my life when I thought I needed to be doing more to feel a sense of accomplishment and “gaining territory” in my spiritual life.  It seemed the more I did, the less fulfilled I became emotionally and spiritually.  That is when I was introduced to the spiritual discipline of silence and solitude.  It seemed counterintuitive to me to sit still and wait in God’s presence.  What in the world can be accomplished from sitting still? I’ve learned the hard way that my spiritual journey is not to be attained or accomplished but surrendered and experienced.

“You are like a jar of river water all shaken up. What you need is to sit still long enough so the sediment can settle and the water can become clear.” Ruth Haley Barton

The depth of our spirit is beyond anything we can imagine.  We need to sit still and let our spirit’s true desire appear for God’s transforming work to be done. “The soul is like a wild animal- tough, resilient, resourceful, savvy, self-sufficient.  It knows how to survive in hard places.  But it is also shy.  Just like a wild animal, it seeks safety in the dense underbrush.  If we want to see a wild animal, we know that the last thing we should do is go crashing through the woods yelling for it to come out.  But if we will walk quietly into the woods, sit patiently by the base of the tree, and fade into our surroundings, the wild animal we seek might put in an appearance.” (Parker Palmer)

The early days in my practice of silence and solitude seemed to be a disaster.  I couldn’t keep my mind from swimming through a myriad of thoughts.  I felt I failed at this simple task, but that is why they call it a practice or discipline.  The key is not to grow weary of well-doing (Galatians 6:9) and not give up.  I had to remind myself over and over again that the Holy Spirit is doing deep work that will take time.  Evidence will surface at just the right time.  There is nothing wrong you can do during a time of solitude and silence except leave too soon.

Today, I would still call myself a novice at the practice of silence and solitude, but I see God’s hand in my transformation.  One sign is that I have a hunger for quietly sitting in his presence.  I feel a need to come away.  I have a deeper sense of who I am in Christ and that he alone meets the deepest longing of my heart.

You may be thinking that your life is so busy that you do not have a moment to spare to quiet your heart and mind in Christ’s presence.  If you’re willing to chisel out some time, not give into early expectations, the “sediment “will settle and the “wild animal” will appear, and your spirit will commune with his Spirit in a way you never knew possible.

“A life without a quiet center can easily become destructive.” Henri Nouwen

written by Major Lauren Hodgson, Spiritual Life Development Department, USA East