An Evening Alone

This past Friday night turned out to be an evening spent home alone. At first I was uncomfortable with the idea of being by myself. I, by my very nature, thrive on interacting with other people. It gives me energy, joy and laughter. However this year God has opened a new chapter in my life. He has asked me to learn how to be independent and seek Him as my energy, joy and laughter. So this past Friday, God used my evening to draw me closer to Him instead of relying on others. The first way He spoke to me was by encouraging me to find better ways to use my time. As school work has eased up this semester I have already been thinking about finding ways to occupy my extra time. Therefore I have decided to pick up a new hobby---painting. It is a way for me to slow down the pace of my life, hear God speaking to me, focus on the positive things in this life and be inspired. My painting Friday night turned out to be a dandelion blowing at sunset (see picture above).

However halfway through my painting the lights went out!! This was not just a one swift blackout. No, of course not. The lights had to eerily flicker on and off multiple times before going out. How did this happen?! It was not even storming with rain, lightning or wind! Clearly God was really testing me to learn this relying on Him thing. I prayed for his comfort and protection. Then I found all the candles in the apartment to light in the living room and Jimmy calmed me down on the phone until the electricity came back on. While I was sitting in the dark, I realized how distracting our electricity can be to our relationship with God. Don't get me wrong---I love electricity and think it is a huge blessing to this generation. However I find myself choosing marathons on netflix over my bible studies and quiet time with God. I decided that maybe the lights going out was God trying to encourage me to read my bible and spend time with him in prayer...then the lights came back on! How quickly I became distracted again with blowing the candles out, charging my phone (which was down to 15% battery), and making sure the PS3 wasn't harmed by a power surge. REALLY?! Well let me say that God is a patient God who grants us many opportunties to seek him even when we continually walk away. As soon as the PS3 turned on a message showed up that it needed to do a system check that could take hours. Yes, that was definitely my cue to go spend some time with God. The study I was on that night embodied God's perfect timing. He spoke to me about how we must live our lives for Him and be listening to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes that will require us to be alone, but that is okay. Just like "David found strength in the Lord his God" (1 Samuel 30:6), so will I.

XOXO Alexa