The Gift of Solitude

It's a rainy foggy Sunday morning, and instead of hustling to get out the door to church, I feel a beckoning to stay put.  

I meander into the kitchen.  Turning on the Keurig, I await the precious minute until my coffee, complete with froth, is ready.  I walk back to my bedroom, where my two sweet pups, Nina and Anya, sitting atop my bed, await my return.  They know that, upon my return, they each will get two fingertips of froth.  After plumping my pillows and sitting up in bed with covers comfortably drawn back up around me, I take my first sip, and exhale deeply.  

Silence.

Many people run from silence, but for me, it is a pathway to desired solitude; a haven of Divine making.

For decades, I lived in the hustle and bustle of raising children. My only solitude was found in the early morning predawn hours. I would roll out of  bed while it was still dark, scurry downstairs before anyone else woke up and have my quiet time with God. It was my daily anchor then just as it remains so today, but today, I can linger in that haven as long as I want to with Him.

These days I find my life exceptionally rich in silence, and as a result, my thought life has grown exceptionally calm. It's been a two year process of recalibrating, and at first, I literally felt an internal resistance to the process. I knew how to be a multi-tasking "Martha", and while I enjoyed my intentional moments of "Mary", if I lingered too long, I felt a tinge of guilt. 

Why was this?   

Recently I read a study about fascia.  (I am a lifelong student. I simply love reading and learning.)  In short, what they are learning is that fascia is fluid, and it responds to sound waves it picks up in the atmosphere of our environment.  The body "reads the room", using fascia, and in turn instructs the brain to release appropriate hormones, that then instruct cellular response - be it cellular healing, demand, or degradation.  

If the environment is chronically tense, protective stress hormones (aka survival hormones such as cortisol) are released by the brain.  If the environment is full of fun and laughter, hormones such as dopamine or serotonin, for example are released. As we age, if we have lived in an environment of chronic stress and tension, the fascia stiffens, creating a cascade of health issues.

I marveled when I read the study.  The body is an absolute masterpiece of God's making. 

Isaiah 32:18 states, "My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."

Silence and solitude allow the body to heal and stay strong and healthy by turning down the room signals, or better stated, the room noise. The brain reads the peace and releases the signal that all is well, and can then go about healing at a cellular level.  

We hear much about stress management, yet how many, when given the opportunity to sit in silence, turn music on or turn the TV on or call someone on the phone?  

I recently had a conversation with someone about their adult child, who they observed always had earbuds in, listening to something.  They actually said their adult child was distressed by silence.  I simply said, "It's because they have trained their brain that way, so they must work to retrain it."  

If they don't, they will have numerous physical challenges as they become older.  The body requires silence to heal and that silence isn't only to be during times of sleep. 

I hope you all don't fall into the category of running from silence.  Consider sitting in silence intentionally.  At first, you may very well find your thoughts racing, but in time, they will calm.

Internal peace with God is indeed priceless, but when external and internal peace align, its value cannot be overstated. God instructs His people to seek out peaceful habitations for a reason!

Make friends with silence, and you too will discover it is a pathway to solitude; a Divine haven unlike any other. 🤍