One on One Time

Fall Break.
A mainstay this time of year if you have anyone in college.
In our house, we have a son in college and a son in law school.
Two fall breaks…though not at the same time!

Each son has been home once before…those weekends where you just need a break.
You just need some home cooking…and time with the family!
My law school son began his fall break first.
He stopped to see his brother in college on the way home.
Brother time…important…necessary.

My law school son left yesterday to go back to school.
I was reading his text, saying that he arrived safely…as his brother was walking in the door.
With five children…four, who are already adults…life is full and wonderfully busy.

Friends come and go…especially when the one that is away, comes home.
The grocery bill is a little higher, since boys…grown boys…eat a lot!
I don’t mind…in fact I enjoy the full shopping cart…the full table…the full heart!

What is vital, in a home like ours, is one on one time.
Whether it is just staying up a bit later, talking in the kitchen…or stopping what you are doing to listen to one that you know needs to talk…one on one “face time” is crucial.

I truly think that over the years, that one on one time solidified our relationships.
They all knew that they could look forward to that time to really catch up…really be heard.

Sometimes, especially with my three daughters, it might be lunch and an afternoon of shopping.
Sometimes, it might be going to a concert, or a movie, or a play…something unique to their specific interests.

When we haven’t had that time together, it is sorely missed.
One or the other of us will suggest that it is time to do something…just the two of us.
Allowing them to pick where we go to lunch…what book store we will browse in…what vintage clothing shops we will check out…makes for wonderfully fun afternoons.

One of my boys has a special spot on the kitchen counter.
If he gets up there…an “epic talk”, as he has always calls it, is about to happen.
Nothing heavy…nothing difficult to discuss…just uninterrupted time to hear hearts.

I treasure their uniqueness and the various ways that has manifested itself in our home.

One on one time is important in any relationship.
It is important if you want to stay connected to the other.
It allows the person to know they are important…that they matter.

Yet the news about Him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear Him and be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
(Luke 5:15,16)

Lonely places…wilderness places.
Places where you learn how much you need God.
Even though Jesus is fully God and fully man…He needed His Father.

He withdrew to these wilderness places to be strengthened.
He withdrew to these wilderness places to strengthen His relationship with His Father.
One on one time…Father and Son.

If Jesus needed one on one time with His Father, how much more do we need the same?
It is vital to have communication with our Heavenly Father.
Our communication with the Father is two-sided…though we often forget that.

We should not be the only ones speaking!
We must practice listening prayer, and hear God the Father speak.
Not in an audible voice, but with a still voice…speaking to our heart.
Letting us know that He is with us…and He is in control.

Many people are intimidated by prayer.
They see it as something they have to perfect…as if they are tested on their performance.
As they pray more, they will begin to see that prayer is not a performance.
It is a relationship.
A relationship that needs one on one time to grow.

A sigh can be a prayer.
A tightening in your throat, when you see something so magnificently beautiful…and there are no words…is a prayer.
Worshiping through music…with our heart…is a prayer.

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated apostles. (Luke 6:12,13)

Jesus spent the night in prayer before choosing His disciples.
We spend minutes in prayer…and find our mind wandering and distracted.

God the Father knows that we are weak.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)

God the Father wants to have a relationship with us…like any good Father would.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
(Matthew 6:8)

Climb up on His lap.
Draw close and let His arms enfold you.
Talk to Him…till you are spent…and have no more words.
Then…in that silence…you will hear Him…you will hear His whisper.

One on one time with our Father.
Enjoy your time together.