Anita Ojeda It’s ok if your quiet time meaning looks different from mine. We all need quiet time, though. Here’s how I love to spend mine.
This post is part of the Five-Minute Friday quick write hosted by Kate Moutang. Join us each Thursday night on Twitter (#FMFParty) for fun and fellowship, then grab a pen and start writing when the prompt goes live!
My Quiet Time Meaning Involves Solo Driving
“I got turned away at the border,” I texted Pedro on Sunday afternoon. Evidently, my interpretation of the Canadian’s rules for transit through Canada to Alaska didn’t jibe with the customs agent’s interpretation.
“That’s rotten,” he replied. “What’s your plan?”
“Not sure,” I texted back, “I’ll let you know as soon as I have one!”
I spent the next few hours trying to find a cool place with internet service so I could research plane tickets vs. ferry tickets. By late afternoon, I had a plan—I would spend the next two nights at our daughter’s place in Oregon, and then fly to Alaska.
I really wanted to drive, though, because I relish the quiet time. For thousands of miles, I can soak in the beauty of Creation, stop whenever I want to and snap photos, and not talk if I don’t feel like it. I can leave the radio off or turn it on; listen to praise music or listen to audiobooks. The introvert’s dream trip. Quiet time meaning for me involves time alone to process without distractions from conversations or loud noises.
I normally get up about an hour before everyone else so I can spend quiet time with God. This usually involves listing things I’m grateful for, reading scripture, applying scripture to my life or a specific situation, journaling about my emotions, and praying for people.
For someone else, quiet time may have a completely different meaning or rhythm. And that’s ok. We don’t all have to do quiet time the same. It must feel meaningful in order to benefit us.
After a month of hanging out with various family members, I couldn’t wait to have some time alone on a long drive. Opportunities to photograph wildlife came in a close second. But, alas, Canada and her quirky rules thwarted my plan.
The Quiet of a Moonrise at Midnight
I arrived in Anchorage a little after ten p.m. An hour later, a kind friend who had dropped my daughter and her family off at the airport two weeks ago picked me up. He and his wife had my daughter’s car at their house. By midnight, I finally headed towards my daughter’s home. I only got a mile down the road when I had to pull over.
A yellow, almost full moon rose majestically behind Matanuska Peak. The battery on my camera flashed low when I turned the camera on and I prayed it would stay on long enough for me to capture the spectacular sight.
I spent the next twenty minutes taking photos of the velvety sky, the snow-covered peaks, and the soft, yellow moon. It didn’t matter if I felt exhausted from a long day of travel. My disappointment over not driving to Alaska fell away as I realized I never would have had the opportunity to see this moonrise in this place if I hadn’t flown.
Even better? The next morning when I checked my Bible app, the verse of the day came from Psalms 8:3-4:
“When I consider your heavens,
NIV
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?”
Quiet time meaning looks different for everyone. It can happen during a midnight moonrise or a midday moment of silence. Quietude allows the Holy Spirit to fill me with peace. What does it mean for you?
Quiet-time’s a big V-8
with no muffler (but, of course!)
and it gets me feeling great
(though others find their hearing worse).
Quiet-time’s an oval track,
dirt or asphalt, same to me,
a place where I can stalk, attack,
spin ’em out, gain victory.
Quiet-time’s post-race debrief,
fists a-clenched and faces red,
and when it’s over there’s relief
that tempers cooled and I ain’t dead.
It’s quiet-time for which I pray,
and it comes back next Saturday.
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser recently posted…Stepping Aside For A Brighter Voice
See? Everyone’s idea of quiet time is different!
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Suspense Titles to Keep You Glued to Your Book
Like you, Anita, it has been my practice to rise about an hour before the rest of our household. I treasure the quiet, needing it each morning so that I can face the day. “Quiet time meaning for me involves time alone to process without distractions from conversations or loud noises.” Quiet time enables me to function better throughout the day.
P.S. I love that you love long drives as then you share your beautiful photos with us all!
Aww, thank you! I’m looking forward to photographing wildlife while I’m here. Of course, I didn’t have my phone of my camera nearby when a mama moose and her two babies walked right through the front yard!
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Do You Know the Academic Self-Care Benefits of Getting Enough Exercise?
I love driving alone, too. I crave the solitude. Glad you got to see that beautiful moon!
Amanda Dzimianski recently posted…Five Minute Friday: Quiet
Thanks, Amanda! Road trips are peaceful :).
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My quiet place is a small condo at Fairfield Bay. Even when I brought my grandchild with me, we had only one rule: No complaining. How quiet our minds would be if we followed that rule every day. No complaining.
Rhonda+L+Brown recently posted…Quiet is when I can hear myself think!
Isn’t that the truth? When we quit complaining, a lot of the noise goes out of our lives!
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Do You Know the Physical Self-Care Benefits of Getting Green Exercise?
Quiet time for me has always worked best when I could get up early while the house is still. It was harder when I had small children whose radar detects when Mom is up. But God gave grace and helped me get something even when they were playing beside me. Some years, quiet time worked best just after the kids left for school. Some people like late nights for meeting with the Lord. What matters most is just to have the time, somehow, some way.
Barbara Harper recently posted…Friday’s Fave Five
So true about kid’s and their mom radar!
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So true, Anita, “The introvert’s dream trip. Quiet time meaning for me involves time alone to process without distractions from conversations or loud noises.”
I’m glad you were able to enjoy the yellow moon!
~Lisa, FMF #20
Lisa+Blair recently posted…Inner Quietness
Thanks for stopping by, Lisa! I love watching the moon :).
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Why Everyone’s Quiet Time Meaning Might be Different and That’s Ok
Oh Anita, I appreciate your words. Thank you for this blessed post. Blessings.
~Selah~
Paula+Short recently posted…A Prayer for Recovery
I am a night owl – but that quiet drive, that walk – that time out with my camera talking with God – focusing in on what He’s telling me. That is revives my spirit.
I have tried getting up early but I nod off. I am a morning person but not too early😆. I do it right before bed. Usually when the house has become quiet and I am serenaded by the humming of the dishwasher or crickets outside.