I remember summer as a child being a time when I could wander along the stream in the woodland behind our house catching turtles and frogs, a time when I could read and explore to my hearts content. It was a time when I could just be without a lot of demands. I imagine that many of us have the same kind of memories of summer, of a carefree time when we were free to discover ourselves and the world around us.

Now it seems that summer is just as busy as the rest of the year. Even the kids have little league, swim lessons, camps of one sort and another as well as various visit s to the relatives and before you know it the summer is gone. Everything that we schedule is positive and contributes in one way or another to our personal development. I wonder though if all that programmed development is as valuable as the time I spent tearing through the woods as an action hero or slowly wading through the stream watching all the secret lives of its inhabitants unfolding before me. There are some thoughts, some discoveries that all of us need to make about ourselves that take time and solitude. It almost seems that our culture, with all of the activities seems to conspire to erect a structure around us and never allow us the time or solitude needed to truly discover ourselves.

It seems odd that our society, so interested in spirituality, in truly discovering ourselves our spiritual nature and our relationship with God, yet so structure our time even as children that we never seem to be able to find the time or solitude we need to listen to ourselves, much less God. Jesus struggled to find this kind of time as well. The story of the feeding of the five thousand is basically a struggle for time alone, time to think, time to pray. Trying to find some personal space, Jesus is followed by a needy crowd. His compassion keeps him from just running off. In an action that is almost as amazing as the loaves and fishes, Jesus continues up the mountain to find the time alone that he desperately needs. It is obvious from Jesus’ actions in this situation that this is something he considers to be a priority and he is intentional about it.

Pastor Jim Bliss
June 2006