Joy in the Gathering and in Being Alone

I left my beloved son Matt and his adorable wife Karissa, after watching him perform flawlessly in his Appellate Moot Court Finals. It was the first time that I have traveled alone in.... I can't remember when I last traveled alone! It was a wonderful visit with Matt and Karissa, and I wish they lived closer. I left them to their studies in the law library and drove on to Richmond. I will be interviewing the main character in a book I am working on, so the trip is even a tax write-off. It is my first bona fide business trip as an author. That in and of itself made it momentous.

But even more momentous, there was not a soul with me that I had to cater to. I could stop every hour to look at the view or use the rest area. I could listen to talk radio, and then the Christian music station without anyone complaining. When I arrived, I could throw my suitcase in the room and dash out for a two hour walk along the river. There was no one else to moan that it was too far, or too fast, or too slow. I could go at just the speed I wanted, and stop to take photos without anyone complaining that I should hurry up. I could stop and read every historic marker, and marvel at the history this beautiful city possessed. I could veer off the path at every turn that interested me.

Inexplicably, I was not afraid as I crossed the very high pedestrian bridge that spanned the James River. I didn't worry about loved ones falling off, and all my fear of heights vanished! I walked another hour in the historic downtown, and got food to go from the restaurant of my choice, without consulting anyone but myself. And then, I sat in my room on the 11th floor with the lights off,eating contentedly. For hours,I watched the sun set over the James River and the lights twinkle on in the city. There was no TV or noise. Just the silence and the panorama stretched below me. As the night fell, I still sat quietly in a chair by the window, watching the lights and the sky change from blue, to orange, to deep blue, and finally to black. The moon rose higher, and the lights from the buildings on the distant shore of the James River cast shimmery yellow reflections.

I love my family. I would never give them up. But I cannot express how deeply peaceful and comforting it was to my soul to sit in front of the window watching the sun set and the night descend, all by myself. The silence and the beauty completely blanketed me with delight. I don't think it was selfish... at least not completely. God told Moses that he was to approach God completely alone. The people were to worship at a distance, but when God called, Moses was to enter His presence alone. I have a great need for solitude, for quiet. It seems that most people do not share, or even understand that need. I suspect that Moses, standing alone on the mountaintop in the presence of God would have understood.

Exodus 24:1-2 (NIV)
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, [2] but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”


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