A Lifeline Tethering Us to Reality and to Sanity
LETTER BY GRACE POUCH
When my kids were little I was so starved for solitude that I began a habit of walking by myself after dark. I would put on my reflective vest and strike out into the pitch black night.
In that quiet cocoon of darkness, the presence of God felt almost tangible. Free from concerns of being overheard or looked at funny, I spoke aloud to Jesus. And like the old song my grandmother sang—He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way—I felt Jesus speaking into my circumstances and reshaping how I saw people, problems, and even myself.
These evening walks were a lifeline tethering me to reality and to sanity — to the Lord. I’ve come to see how critical that time was to reconnect with Jesus and bring him all of my thoughts and feelings.
“If we could just be, for a few moments each day, fully where we are, we would indeed discover that we are not alone and that the One who is with us wants only one thing: to give us love,” writes Henri Nouwen.
In those hectic early years of motherhood, I fully believed Jesus was alive and present— but to attend to his subtle cues, I needed my late-night sojourns away from the noise and chaos of the world around me.
Of course the goal is to connect with God in the midst of noise and chaos.
But we learn to hear God in the noise by practicing in the quiet. No one learns to swim by throwing themselves into hurricane waves. We build strength in gentle conditions to withstand greater challenges.
My discipline of night walks lasted only a year or two. Family rhythms changed and now I have time during the day for solitude and silence. Even so, it can slip through my fingers in a second. It’s hard to preserve the conditions for deep listening to God.
During Advent, we invite you to join us in practicing solitude and silence — to enter the quiet cocoon where you can feel God’s love for you, express your love in return, and let the Lord reset your priorities and perspectives.
“Attention is the first act of love.” So stepping away from noise and busyness to focus our attention on God is a practical step toward loving him.
Enjoy the presence of Emmanuel — God with us.
Hear his voice — in nature, in scripture, in your inmost being.
Let his concerns be your only concerns.
Receive his peace.
Grace Pouch
Content Manager
P.S. My time as a student at the Renovaré Institute also provided a life-giving tether to sanity, reality, and deepening friendship with God. Might you sense an invitation to apply for the 2026 – 28 cohort? Applications close February 1st.
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LET’S DIVE IN...
CURATED BY GRACE POUCH
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1.
Renovaré is happy to partner with the Center for Christianity and Public Life (CCPL) and a range of national leaders in this National Call to the Christian Practices of Silence & Solitude. On the webpage, you can find a way to respond to the call, along with resources for practicing these disciplines.
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2.
In this excerpt from an 1896 sermon, C. H. Spurgeon urges us to “Get alone” for some part of each day in order to see ourselves and the world in the light of God’s reality.
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3.
Adele Calhoun offers practical suggestions for entering silence and solitude and reminds us, “no matter how well we ‘do’ silence, God is there to accept, receive and love us.”
Grace Pouch
Content Manager
WORTH QUOTING
Fraudless silence may I find,
Solitude and peace of mind;
To all the busy world unknown,
Seen and loved by God alone.
– John and Charles Wesley
Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley
(source)
TO CONTEMPLATE
Walk at Dusk, possibly a self-portrait
Caspar David Friedrich 1830-35
(source)
Under the waxing moon (the artist’s carefully chosen symbol for Christ and resurrection), a figure presumed to be the artist’s self-portrait contemplates an ancient tomb. I wonder if this painting commemorates a time when the artist met God in the intimate stillness of a solitary walk at dusk — and perhaps received some word of hope, truth, or light from his ever-living Savior.
TO PONDER
Read Nouwen’s words below again, slowly. Afterward, take a breath, perhaps close the computer or face-down the phone, or go to another room with a quiet chair, and be with God in whatever state you find yourself.
If we could just be,
for a few moments each day,
fully where we are,
we would indeed discover
that we are not alone
and that the One who is with us
wants only one thing:
to give us love.