Home Alone?

January 1, 2012

After the difficult year I've had in 2011, it seems like I'm never alone. Never "home alone" or able to be completely alone for a period of time. Cleaning needs to be done, TV shows blare, the phone rings, the doorbell rings, someone needs something or can't find something, mail is piled on the counter, and I can't find a place of stillness. So today, I went out to my backyard and pruned my fruit trees. It was quiet--a cold January day when no one wants to be outside doing yard work.

I setup my fruit tree ladder and began the task. Three apple, two plum, and a cherry tree stood helpless from my shears. But pruning tends to be painful for me too. All those promising branches cut and trimmed to strengthen the tree. I watched as branches dropped to the ground below. I knew it was a good way for my trees to start the new growing season come spring.

And while I stood balanced on top of my 12 foot fruit tree ladder, soft, unusually warm January air brought a gentle breeze and I looked around my neighborhood. I could see all the yards asleep for winter; covered patio furniture and locked sheds shut down for the season. But my eyes focused on the mountain behind the rooftops--Mica Peak. At the bottom was a lake. I hadn't been there in a long time. Especially alone.

Have you ever asked someone you love to join you? "Let's you and me go somewhere. Just the two of us alone."

But if you're with someone, you're not really alone. When was the last time you were completely alone? Just you. And have you ever said, "I need to be alone with God?" What is it to be alone with God?

But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works. (Psalm 73:28 KJV)

Alone with God is to draw near to him and trust him. I thought of 2012. This new year will be challenging for myself and many other people. One of the best ways to draw near to God is to be totally alone with him--you and God only. I want to be alone with him; quiet before him.

This week, I'm going to that lake, parking my car, and will hike along the trail for hours so I can listen to God. Him and me and his creation. I want to hear him and what his will is for me in 2012.

Find a place where you can really be alone with God and spend some time with him. Not home alone ... just you and God, alone, somewhere.

Visit me at http://www.cindyscinto.com