by Heather Phillips
Grace and peace to you!
Time for another story from Lesotho!! To tie in with the Lectio 365 series that we have been following, this week’s newsletter will be about the importance of solitude and silence.
Our time in Lesotho was peppered with opportunities to just be still. Closely followed by times of raucous laughter and blasting noise until the hills were deaf with the sound of music!
Before we started each day, we went for a 20-minute walk to freshen up and then we all grabbed our Bibles, notebooks and coffee mugs, and wandered off somewhere around the base looking for a good place for a quiet time. After our quiet time, we’d sit and chat about anything that had struck us during our time of contemplation. For our private quite times, most of the team chose spots around the front by the kitchen, not wanting to wander off too far lest they miss the call to return for breakfast.
Some folks tracked halfway into the farmlands, to be completely cut off from the activity around the base. Dave, who had the “guest suite” didn’t have to trek anywhere! He could sit in quiet bliss at his little table, on his comfy chair, in his nice cool room… no I definitely was not a little jealous…
So, each of us set off to our own destinations, free from the normal hustle and bustle of mornings back home, with no distractions and more than enough time to dedicate ourselves to prayer and devotion. Alone with your thoughts. Ah! It’s amazing how when you finally get that time to be still, that you say you don’t have, your head starts filling with other stuff.
For the first couple of days, I only ended up using half of my quiet time to be still, because the first half was spent calming racing thoughts. From wondering about the health of members of the team to the plans for the day, it took a while to just be still. I think 20 years alone in the desert would still not be enough time for my brain to be still! The others all shared the same idea, that it took a while for thoughts to settle.
Eventually though, as we continued with the prayers throughout the week, it became easier to fall into stillness faster. As we started to set aside this time for stillness, we saw that there was still enough time afterwards for all the things that we had worried we wouldn’t get to. We all benefitted from the first couple of days of struggling for silence, not necessarily because we gained anything from the quiet time, but because forcing ourselves to give that time, showed us we didn’t lose time elsewhere. Stillness doesn’t “steal” time. It shouldn’t surprise us that the God who exists outside of time, would help us find time, to do what needs to be done.
Building the habit of setting aside time for the Lord is hard at first but it pays dividends in the end. As with any habit it’s not easy to start and if we have a “cheat day” we often end up back at square one. As part of the “Wisdom in the Desert” Bible Study series one of the questions is often, how can you as a group hold each other accountable or encourage each other to stick to the plans that you have set up for yourself this week? In Lesotho, we had the benefit of the rest of the group holding each other accountable. Also, we couldn’t have breakfast till prayer was done… If you know building a good prayer life will be a struggle by yourself, ask your family or friends to keep you accountable. Or restrict yourself from having breakfast, whatever works for you!
Ultimately though, do not fear “losing” that time. The big and little things fall into place a lot faster when you have set your focus for the day on God, instead of the things of the world.
Much love in Christ
Heather P