Escape

Sometimes I feel the urge to escape: to slip away from what confines me and holds me captive. It may be worry, over-commitment, stress, conflict or over-stimulation. There is a point of saturation when one cannot handle more of what the world has to offer.

My energy depleted, the stress mounting, I seek a place of escape.

David felt similar emotions when he wrote the words in Psalm 55:6-8, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would flee far away and stay in the desert, I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”

Sometimes I’d love to flee far away but that is not possible. A desert would be good, the mountains or beach even better. But my escape is not so much a physical place but the art of solitude; a retreat from the world.

I long for forty days alone in the desert as Jesus had. Though not permitted that luxury, I am satisfied with moments stolen here and there; alone with God, alone with me.

This time alone relieves the stress, puts my world into perspective and calms my soul. There is rest in Jesus for those who are weary and burdened.

So today, I am thankful for the opportunity to escape: to slip away from the confines of daily life.

My desert this morning is my living room floor. It is two am and all is quiet in my household. God meets me here, wrapped in my blanket, listening to the sounds of nothing as He leads me beside quiet waters and restores my soul.