June 26: Insight Post by Michael Thayer
Friday Insight Post
by Michael Thayer
I am looking forward to this summer. I hope you are as well.
Next month, I am planning to travel with my brother-in-law to Ohio, where he will be a guest speaker at a faith-based retreat center on the shores of Lake Erie, very near to my hometown of Toledo. Nuclear power plant situated on protected wetlands and wildlife area notwithstanding, I look forward to spending time in a place that was a significant part of my summers as a youth. I look forward to seeing and spending time with my family there, and to the peace and solitude that the retreat organizers intentionally (and thankfully) built into the center’s daily programming.
The center’s informational materials indicate that the purpose of the retreat community is "dedicated to nurturing mind, body, and spirit” through the pillars of the arts, education, recreation, and religion. My daily regimen will include morning prayer sessions, preparation for and participation in significantly discounted Level I Sailing Lessons before lunchtime, and time with my family in the afternoon and evening. I truly look forward to the solitude of spending time with the Lord each morning, away from the duties and to-do list awaiting me back home. I also look forward to the solitude and peace of being out in nature and on the water each day. I do not plan to join in on the rock painting sessions – no one ever accused me of being an artist. I also do not look forward to the Level I sailing test at the end of the week, but I’ll manage…
Our focus this week is on solitude. While a blessing, I do not need to have a week away at a retreat to build solitude into my life on a regular basis. I do need to be disciplined about incorporating moments of solitude into each day, especially when life gets stressful and hectic.
God designed me in such a way that time in nature facilitates solitude for me. Just before going to sleep on summer nights, watching the fireflies light up the tops of the trees in our backyard releases my mind from the day’s events and tensions. While enjoying His incredible design and disengaging from the noise and demands of daily life, I have been trying to focus on thanking and drawing closer to God as I prepare to rest. An important book end to a day that starts with quiet time, prayer, and reading the Word.
Without intentional solitude, I can fill my day with good things, yes, but also with noise and distraction that keep me from being still and allowing me to hear God’s sometimes quiet urgings, to see His subtle signs, and for Him to work in and through me. If I am disciplined, practices that foster solitude provide me each day with the time, space, and opportunity to be transformed into the man and servant God calls me to be.
As the final sentence from our bible passage this week tells us: Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1–2 (NLT)
I pray for discipline…
Michael Thayer
Leadership Team Member
New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org