Getting Away

Getting Away feeds our souls.

It was important to Jesus, it is important to us as individuals, and it is important to our marriage.

Jesus made it a habit to get away by himself and pray…

Luke 5:15-16 ….vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

In the midst of busyness, serving others and feeling overwhelmed Jesus escaped to find refreshment with his Father. He knew that in order to care for others, He had to care for himself by communing with God. Jesus withdrew to quiet places where no one could find him. Places without the distraction of the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Places where no schedule existed and no phone rang. Jesus withdrew alone. He did not take his disciples – not even Peter, James or John. He knew that true communion happened when it was just Him and His father and sometimes He even spent all night praying.  I think these moments of solitude with God fed his soul so that He could pour himself out again.

Have you ever gotten away with God? Extended time, free from the noise of life, where just you and God exist. It might have been a solitude retreat, a day in bed, 15 minutes of quiet or a hike through the woods. God speaks so clearly when the noise is gone. Time with God leaves me refreshed to be a better mom, wife and friend,  and I could not do ministry without it.

If intimacy in marriage mirrors intimacy with Christ…

Then it is important for us to have times where we as a couple withdraw to a quiet place to commune.

Not a vacation with a bunch of other people, a trip to visit family, or a weekend away with your friends. Just you and your husband in a quiet place, with no distractions, no phones, no activity schedule. Just communing together.

5 years ago my husband and I stayed at a cabin for a weekend in the middle of winter. No one else was around, and phone’s did not work. We took a few books, food to cook and a few clothes. After pulling the mattress to the window that overlooked the frozen lake, we spent the weekend communing. We talked, we had sex, we prayed, we had sex, we played games that led to sex, we fed each other and we came away refreshed. On the way home in the car, I grabbed a piece of scratch paper and God downloaded the 6 week outline of the Awaken-Love study.

There have been other times when my husband and I have checked into a bed and breakfast and did not exit the room until check out. We simply laid together, rested, talked and restored each other.

I will be the first to admit that I was not good at getting away when my kids were young. Somehow I was so wrapped up in being a mom, that I lost track of taking care of my marriage. I truly believe it would have made a difference if we had made getting away a priority. Honestly, you don’t even have to go somewhere. Stay  home and send the kids to a relatives or friends house, turn off the electronics, order takeout and spend time communing. When the kids come home you will be such a better parent.

Couples need to spend time alone together, hearing from God and hearing from each other. We need to withdraw in order to be refreshed so that together we can handle the chaos of living in this crazy world.

Song of Songs 8:14   Come away, my love! Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

Take care of your marriage and Get Away