Getting Away

What does God want of us? We live busy lives, full of activity and running from one thing to another, trying to live every day to the fullest, trying to be there for our kids, for work, for spouses, for ourselves, for those activities that we have set as priority. But I wonder, if we were to take some time to really think about our priorities, about how we want to be remembered, how we want to live, would our priorities and the activity that we are running around doing change?

What's really important in life? To sit down regularly and evaluate our lives is important. The activity that surrounds our priorities - are they really about our priorities or has the activity become the priority? Silence, contemplation, thinking hard about life are all difficult to stop and do. Distractions abound. Just about the time there seems to be time to take out of busy days ... there's one more thing to do. Maybe getting away is the answer, getting away from the daily routine, from the distractions that come when sitting at home. It would be great if we could get to the point in life where we can sit comfortably in silence in the presence of God and be still. But to do that takes perseverance; it doesn't come naturally. So getting away is a way to do that. I'm headed to Blue Cloud Abbey this weekend and hope that by getting away, I can sit comfortably and in silence in the presence of God and hear what God has to tell me. I find that I am not able to sit without distraction at home. I turn on the television, I turn on the computer, I do chores, my mind wanders... I cannot 'will' myself to be still. It'll take time and perseverance to do that. The few times that I am able to sit still, to be calm, to listen for God, to empty myself are meaningful and exciting. I love the knowledge that I am with God, alone, without distraction, at those times.

Sometimes, more often than a few years ago, I can go to a place in prayer where it is just me and God. It happens at chapel most often. When I close my eyes, and sit still, I can go to another place. The light streaming through the stained glass doesn't even penetrate that place. My thoughts and other distractions disappear and I can be in this place where I feel the presence of God. What's neat too is that sometimes I feel the presence of many others as well. Does that sound strange and weird? I'm sure it does. A few years back if someone shared that, I would have been uncomfortable. Not now.

I look forward to my time away at Blue Cloud Abbey. The structure of the day is balanced between prayer/worship, work and relaxation. It's a structure that is difficult for me to maintain when I'm not there. There's a pace that is unhurried, meaningful, things to do, but not in a hurried fashion. There are few outside noises - no traffic, no television, no music playing, no one talking. When I sit outside, I hear the wind, I hear the leaves on the trees, I hear the grass waving. I feel the warmth of the sun, I feel the breeze on my skin. I can be okay with 'not doing anything.'

When you have a chance to get away, or if you ever want to come to Blue Cloud with me, take that opportunity.