Bread Crumbs – Devotions for Life

We live in a world starved for solitude, silence, and privacy, and 

therefore starved for meditation and true friendship. (1)

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Surprisingly, the quote above does not come for a social scientist analyzing the culture of the 21st century.  The quote is from C. S. Lewis, written in before 1960, when very few people had a private telephone line, much less a television.

In a more sedate, slower paced society, finding a moment and place to reflect and to refuel was a challenge.  

In today’s world of hyper-connectivity and digital social networks most of us long to be left alone.  We never seem to have a genuine quiet moment to ourselves.  Thus we hunger for silence and solitude, both of which are foundational to being able to relate to others and to build community.

We hunger for silence, an opportunity to be alone, but we fear being disconnected.

In our busyness and fear, we separate ourselves from God.  In our frantic hyper-connectivity with the world, we drown out the voice of God and believe He is hard to find.  Thus, we neither find Him nor connect to Him.

My job requires me to be engaged with people on a regular and daily basis.  These individuals dictate the times and terms of our interaction, which is spurned by crisis in their lives.

Yet, in the expectation for me to be present and to respond to the needs of others, I must have fuel in my tank in order to provide spiritual nourishment and substance for them during their crisis.

Thus, I must carve out time in every day to be alone, to be silent, and to be unavailable to no one, except God. 

This professional necessity is also a personal blessing.

Only after I have been alone with God, am I able to truly engage with others and enjoy genuine friendship and find peace and happiness.

Smartphones, text messages, email, Facebook, and digital notifications of the score in the third inning of a Pirates-Cubs baseball game are not the source of our problem.  

We fear being disconnected, missing a piece of the action, not knowing what is going on in this temporal world.  

This fear drives us away from God, from ourselves, and from others.

Be still and know that I am God … I am with you always (2)

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1. Lewis, C. S. (2009-03-17). A Year with C. S. Lewis (p. 126). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition. 

2. Psalm 46:10 and Matthew 28:20.