Alone with God

I have been all over the place recently.  Finishing my senior year in college, serving as youth and outreach minister at my church (not to mention all of the Christmas stuff that happens, and the Winterfest trip we just took), being the Baptist Collegiate Ministry President, as well as the state representative for our school and planning the college retreats, spending time with my girlfriend and friends (which is a blessing completely, but still time taken), and in the midst of all of this I was trying to convince myself that I was setting aside enough time for me and God.

But if that were true, there would be absolutely no reason for me to be writing this blog.

And so I realized two nights ago that God had a more solitary experience planned for me than I had for myself.  I was supposed to leave the next morning for a mission trip to Atlanta and felt incredibly ill--the worst I have felt in years.  I woke up knowing I couldn't go on the trip.  In fact, after a trip to the doctor, I realized I had tonsillitis, a respiratory infection, and strep.

Though I'm sure that God didn't just all of a sudden set this up for me to realize that I wasn't spending enough time with him, I do believe that it may be one of those things in my life that has been planned all along.  

Sometimes even good things like mission trips can be getting in the way of our relationship with God.  If our hearts aren't right with God, and our lives aren't centered correctly around God, it is very easy to miss the mark as a missionary for His gospel.  Don't get me wrong:  I will never tell you to focus more on yourself than on others, because I believe wholeheartedly that the truest way to experience the love of God for yourself is to give it to others, but at the same time, you still have to focus on yourself some.  God still wants to speak to you.  God still wants to personally interact with you--so save some time for it.