Inner Solace and Solitude is really about the inner landscape of the soul – my mother tried to explain this to me when my boys were both under the age of two when all I wanted to do was run away for awhile to get my head on straight.

I sought solace beside a quiet river when my nerves were raw and on edge… but when I arrived that river had become a ragging torrent from the spring thaw and resulting run off. I wondered what it all meant then I saw the tree. The tree on the side of the sheer cliff, wedged deeply into a crevice, roots holding it firmly in place as its growth wandered upwards towards the sun. It stood solitary, silent, strong in the midst of a hard granite wall.

I marveled at the wild waves crashing against those hard granite walls, I experienced the mist gently caressing my face and I pondered the strength of the lone tree on the sheer cliff side. Dwelling safely, securely in an impossibly sheer rock face, secure in the cleft of the rock.

I knew I needed to be like that tree… Looking at the Son, not focused on the chaos below or the overwhelming living conditions, but focused intently on growing deep roots, finding nourishment and water and reaching towards the sun, the Son source of life.

I left home that day seeking a quiet pool to ponder and a place to rest, to get away from everything… instead I found a loud, raging river that seemed to match the inner world I was trying to escape. I wanted an outside source to calm my inner pain instead I found a place to stand and grow roots, a place to experience life in the midst of the rapids and I found a place to look – heavenward.

A quick trip, a powerful lesson, a needed break. In the midst of the loud crashing, thundering water, I found peace…a quiet inner peace which was what I had sought all along. I shared my trip, my need, what I learned and my mother replied: “You could have found that right here in the apartment…” and she was right!

I finally understood what she meant… Peace can happen when you visit a calm river, but peace can happen in the midst of the storm, peace inside, because the Prince of Peace is just waiting to give us Himself the author and perfecter of our Peace…

True peace for the inner landscape of our soul, true solace and solitude in the midst of a busy life…

Peace

I visited that tree some 20 years later, it was still growing in the side of the cliff, four times as big as I remembered it when I saw it first. Slowly and steadily growing but growing none the less.

Now I’m  like that tree, somewhat slow in growing, but growing none the less.