Day 19- Guest Post From Tracee Persiko

Today's guest blogger is Tracee Persiko.  I've never met Tracee, but she inspires me almost every day on Twitter (@TraceePersiko) and on her blog at 
http://www.traceepersiko.wordpress.com/.  I was thrilled that she agreed to share with us here at the 40 Day Adventure.  Enjoy!

Solitude
I reach for the alarm with a groan rolling off my lips. “Is it time already?” My routine sets in as I check my phone for unread texts and tweets. “I wonder what I missed last night,” are where my thoughts go.

When I get to work, I can’t help but wonder, “Wasn’t I just here?” Some days feel like Ground Hogs Day on repeat. The phones start to ring and the noise of the day begins. Each week I seem to find myself in a place of crawling towards the finish line of Friday.


Our world is a noisy place that demands out attention. There are so many voices telling us to do something, watch something, and work on something. There are so many things that lobby for our time and attention. It’s exhausting.


What do we spend our time on? If I was being most honest, sometimes I cannot remember what took up my time the day before, or why I even gave something my time.


The blessing of our energy is that it expires. But why do we go, go, go until exhaustion? Could there be a way to balance out life before exhaustion?


For me, exhaustion is a huge red flag that I have applied too much noise where solitude needed to be. It is not too long into exhaustion where my adult size tantrum sets in and emotions take over. Naps don’t seem long enough and excitement of life takes on groans.


Jesus understood the crucial need for solitude. There are so many places in scripture where Jesus is seen going off by himself for solitude. Who knows how long he spent in those places, but he took the time. I always wonder when I read about all of the things Jesus did on a daily basis, how he was not exhausted all the time.


Jesus valued solitude.


Jesus never wondered where he was going, what he was doing, or even what he was going to say. He spent that much time in solitude with his father to know. Jesus knew the value of an exhale. He appreciated the value of quietness and no noise. Jesus took the time to exhale in the presence of his father, who in turn strengthened him for what was next.


There is a stigma that comes with the word solitude. Fear starts to arise when people hear its name. The fear of solitude is isolation or loneliness. Sometimes solitude feels like we’ve been put into a time-out. The misconception of solitude is that it is not a life discipline, but a discipline of punishment.


Solitude is life saving. Solitude is a gift to our livelihood. We need it. We need quiet and separation from the noise. I am not even saying for an entire day, but a part of it. Life without the balance of solitude is exhausting.


If I am being most honest, I sit here typing in the place of post tantrum and emotional roller coaster from exhaustion. I have spent the day reading and journaling with music in my ears, and it has changed everything. I am placing a little more weight on the value of solitude in me.


How would solitude affect your life?


He Is Risen!