I’m a huge extrovert.

I love being around people, and you might assume that I hate being alone. But the truth is, I love it.

There’s something about silence that brings me peace. When I dial down the noise of the world, God’s voice seems louder.

Time alone is something of a rarity for me these days. I don’t even get this from my child when I’m in the bathroom! In the past though, I’ve had many periods of time alone, which I thought were instances of solitude. However, when I thought more deeply about solitude and researched it, I realised that being away from people is not necessarily solitude…

Growing up, my mum would often say

“If I sit still, I won’t get up again”.

She was (and still is) always on the go.

She’s always gone above and beyond to keep the household together, so much so that she was known for hardly ever being able to sit down with us and watch a film in its entirety.

She was often up and about throughout the film to either do the washing up or put the next load of laundry in the washing machine.

My dad, my sister and I would often get frustrated and say “can’t it wait until the end of the film?” then we’d shout into the kitchen,

“you’re missing the best part!”

We longed for her to be with us to share the experience and to sit still with us.

Back in January, I tried “Follow” and it suggested that I explore silence and solitude. Having procrastinated for six weeks, today, I decided to give it a go. Having disengaged from all things electrical – TV, phone, washing machine, the kettle and fridge, I found myself feeling increasingly agitated and anxious and well…

…naked.

In our busy lives, we all need to seek out moments of solitude to fully reflect on the majesty of Creation.

If we walk out our daily routines with more care and consideration and become intentional about space and time alone with Jesus;

we will encounter him as Creator God

As a self-professed introvert, I am very proud to announce to anyone I meet that I need quiet time on my own! However, when I think about it more deeply...

am I actually ever a l o n e ?