The blessing of solitude…

Brent has been gone for 2 weeks as of yesterday, and the time if flying!  I leave for India 3 weeks from today (yikes!).  I guess that means I should start packing!  Over the next two weekends I’ll be visiting with Brent’s parents and my parents to say good-bye.  I’m so glad that I’ll get to see them before I leave. 

Now that I’ve had a couple weeks to adjust to living alone, I’m realizing that it’s actually been a huge blessing for me.  I miss Brent terribly and cannot wait to be living with him again, but having the house/time alone allows me to:   

• Spend as much time as I want doing my Bible study.  I’ve recently started studying Jonah, and I’ve really been enjoying it.  I don’t even really turn on the TV at night, and it’s allowed me time to get into His word completely uninterrupted.
• Pray and sing out loud as much as I want – without anyone caring!
• Really connect with God on a much more personal level.  I love to spill my guts to Brent every day about anything and everything.  Just the little things that happen throughout my day.  I’ve still been able to talk to him daily, but usually only for about 20 minutes, so it’s hard to get all of those details out.  So I’ve started talking to God on more of a conversational level instead of just praying about specific needs.  I actually took a walk the other night and just talked to God (glad none of the neighbors were outside to hear me)!
• It’s also just given me a chance to just enjoy living alone, which is something I haven’t really done before outside of a couple semesters in college.  I can keep my own schedule, cook what I want for dinner, go to sleep when I want, etc.  And I’ve been forced to be a little more independent, which is something I probably needed to work on anyway. 

There’s nothing really stopping me from doing these things while Brent is here, but there’s a freedom in being alone and a necessity to depend on God more.  I think this time has been a good reminder of His sufficiency, and I’ve really been blessed by it.  I’m praying that God will keep me this focused on Him when I have Brent back.

Now about that packing…