God is the Cure for Spiritual Loneliness
September 28, 2023
Living more minimally, Marie Kondo-ing our closets, passing on what we no longer need--these are hot topics these days.
We are doing the same thing at church: cleaning closets and storage sheds, asking ourselves why there are five used drills in those sheds, clearing out unused furniture to create new and bigger spaces for Sunday School rooms, etc.
Anyone who does this kind of cleanup at work or at home knows how liberating it can make you feel. We need to do the same type of cleanup in our lives to make space for God. Usually, that cleanup has to happen on our calendars. We need to evaluate all the ways we use time and ask ourselves what needs to be jettisoned to have space and quiet for God.
Recently, I realized that one of my daily pursuits was not spiritually or emotionally helpful, and I decided in a flash to change my morning routine. Voilá! My mornings immediately became more God-centered and joyful. I added a weekly coffee and chat with a friend, and voilá! More joy.
This can be challenging when everything on your calendar looks necessary and important and right. You have to work. You have to care for children or grandchildren. You have to run errands and cook and do laundry and go to appointments.
Still, I would bet that most of us have appointments that aren't all that life-giving. Do you need a large and complicated garden that sucks the life out of you? Do the kids need to play two sports, or only one sport? Is the weekly Bunco game dragging you down or giving you life? Do you have to watch every televised game of your favorite baseball team?
I bet that each of us from toddler to nonagenarians have one thing we could cut back on that gives us breathing room. And in that breathing room, we can find God breathing along with us and asking us for that daily chat.
