Time Alone with God

When I was young I was taught that one ought to have a "quiet time," as it was sometimes called, a time of prayer and solitude. Being a good young man, I marked this down on my list of things that I needed to do. I needed to make good grades, please my parents, go to church, treat people nicely, help the poor, and have a quiet time. Somehow my time alone with God become another obligation. As you can imagine, I wasn't too good at getting that done. As I grew older I began to learn that time alone and with God is more like a vacation. It is soothing and nice and something to look forward to. Now I find myself trying to find a place in my day where I can take a short vacation and sit in silent prayer with God. How you look at things makes all the difference. Chris Depew is a new blogger in our network. He writes about getting up and leaving his desk to find a measure of peace with God. I have just left my desk in the middle of corporate America to try and find some peace. Corporate America never stops - it is never still. There is constantly bickering and fighting between the ranks. Corporate America needs God's love more than any "institution" that I know of. In the life that it demands you don't have time stop and enjoy anything but the next report or email. I can't live this life forever. I don't think I am going to make it. So, I have found my peace in a local park under a beautiful pine tree. I finally feel like I am away from everyone and everything, never mind the miles of asphalt and plastic picket fence that is just a few feet away. Here is where I can really focus on what matters in life. I turn off the blackberry, the radio, and my busy professional life. If only for thirty minutes, I need this. God and I talk during this time. Today He reminds me of what the psalmist said in Psalm 46, "Be still and know that I am God." You see, corporate America is so lost because no one living inside it can be still. ...R