{Post by Lisa}
Sometimes there are no friends around to call and that can be a good thing. I know that this is a strange thing to write. Hang on though and let me explain what I mean.
Friends can be too busy or need space or they moved on without us. Or they are tired of waiting for us to call them and catch up. Caring Moms tend to think that they did something wrong. Usually that is not the case.
What if God planned us to have a season of quiet? Or what if God called your friend to take a rest in the quiet for a season. Great friends give each other a break without smothering each other with expectations.
Our good God orchestrates our life in a way that allows us to have quiet moments. It’s in the quiet that God can speak to our hearts.
Embrace the quiet…
I had a friend share with me that God moved her out of state and away from all her best friends. He moved her to a place where she knew nobody at all. For the first several years she didn’t connect with others.
Instead God positioned her in a place of quiet from people, places, ministry and things so that He could speak life into her hurting heart. She needed to embrace the quiet.
You see sometimes having friends and things to do can be a distraction from being in relationship with God.
We can’t let busy keep us from getting in touch with our heart issues or stop God from moving sin out of our life.
God is in the business of healing, delivering, restoring, and providing wisdom to our inner core.
Embrace the quiet…
We truly live when God’s truth reigns in our life. We will only find our real joy in God’s love. We must be willing to embrace the quiet and let God do His thing!!!
It doesn’t matter if we or our friends are extroverts or introverts, we all need a time out from surrounding ourselves with company. It’s important to our mental and spiritual health.
There will be those who don’t understand or respect this.
We all need to be sensitive to the fact that we all have times where we don’t feel like being social.
As an introvert, I need my friends to understand that my time outs have nothing to do with them.
I’m not angry. It’s just how I rock and roll.
Good friends understand that about me. It’s important that they do.
We need to give grace to those who are quiet for a season and allow them that time to be alone. We also should give ourselves permission to do the same. Only God can bring real deliverance and light into our situations.
Most of the time we need to get by ourselves and give our whole heart over to God and let Him speak to us individually. We do need others but we need God the most.
I’ve gone through seasons where I faced some real hard issues and no one was around to meet me where I was. I didn’t reach out either. I felt that I needed to let my social life slow down and I had to be quiet before the Lord. Looking back, I’m so glad that I did. It was an awesome time with God. A wonderful time of growth. It was lonely too.
Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to connect and hang out with others. When I did, though, I stayed lonely because no one can take the place of God.
I have come to realize that lonely is good. It’s an empty place inside of us that only God can fill. My husband can’t even fill this spot nor should he be expected too.
We were created with a lonely spot in us. This blank space is only for God to fill and when He does we discover that we are not alone.
God will never leave our side and when we embrace lonely moments of motherhood and life, we learn how big our God is and how special we are to Him.
In my times of quiet I have felt lonely and God rushed in to fill me with His joy. I have learned to embrace the quiet seasons in my life and not be offended when friends are not around.
When I embrace the quiet my love for life blooms and I find the strength I need to carry on.
How do you embrace the quiet?
Lisa is an aspiring writer with a mother’s passion for Homeschool Education. She has an 8 yr. old son, a 7 yr. old daughter, and has been married to her husband for 10+ yrs. Prior to marriage, she worked over 20 yrs. enriching the lives of hundreds of children and families. Lisa has a Bachelors in Social Work and Early Childhood Education. You can read more of Lisa’s posts on her blog – The Family Roadmap.
Enjoy your time at home!
What a beautiful post. I feel like you are speaking directly to me! I am in the middle of working a night shift as a nurse, and ‘stumbled upon’ your blog…after reading this post, I realize this was no accident, moreso this was God telling me exactly what I needed to hear, exactly when I needed to hear it. Keep up the great work!
Awe, thank you for sharing with us, Kelly! My mom worked nights as a nurse and she took the days slowly to spend as much time with us as she could. Hang in there and yes, embrace the quiet. I appreciate your kind comments.