Have you ever gone away and returned to find people got along quite well without you? 

It’s humbling.

Why? Because we want to be indispensable. At least, we think we want to be.

In truth, believing the world will fall apart without us is a heavy burden to bear. Solitude is a way to lay that burden down and to come into agreement with the truth that God is the one in charge of the universe. 

This month’s focus is the spiritual discipline of solitude, which Dallas Willard defines as ​“the creation of an open, empty space in our lives by purposefully abstaining from the interaction with other human beings, so that, freed from competing loyalties, we can be found by God.”