Having your nose to the grindstone, your shoulder to the wheel, and your back to the wall for long periods of time is simply not the most comfortable position.  Sometimes lying in the bathtub is, or sitting in front of a painting. Gregg Levoy

Earlier on in my wilderness experience, I would get up early and make coffee, as I have done for years. However, instead of diving into reading, journaling, and my usual morning routines, all I cared to do was to sit in complete silence in a dark room. I sat. Drank coffee. And listened to my thoughts. I did this for weeks. And, I did it because this is what my inner self was pleading for.  To be heard, to be noticed.  I learned over the years to trust that Voice. Something within me knew that what I needed most was just space. And quiet. Not more words, not more activity.

The wilderness gives us the opportunity to get in touch with stuff deep inside of us that hankers for our attention but can’t be heard so well in the daily grind of life. Often this stuff has to do with core identity, out of which everything else we do in life flows.  In the dark, quiet moments we come to understand the irony that we can experience progress while sitting still, and that going inward is going forward.  I didn’t see that then, but as I look back I can see just how true that is.

Two Keys to Making the Most of a Wilderness Experience

Create as much space as possible.

The more space you can create, the more you will experience the gift of the wilderness. At one point, I was able to take a week away*, but then after that I tried to get overnights at a retreat center on a regular basis.  In addition, I took as many walks as my schedule allowed. Even creating space in small ways matters when you’re intentionally listening to your heart and thoughts, and giving room for God to speak.

Intentionally Slow Down.

This isn’t the time to add a bunch of responsibilities to your already full life.  If possible, even let go of as many of the negotiable** things that take up your time to slow your life down and create extra space.  As much as we might like to plow through the wilderness at full speed ahead, it just doesn’t work that way.

And speaking of trying to get through the wilderness as quick as possible, to the degree that we rush the process we run the risk of not allowing the work of the wilderness to go to the depths of our being.

The temptation, while in the wilderness, is to try to get out of it as soon as possible because it is so disorientating.

Even Jesus, while in the wilderness for 40 days, is tempted in ways that would have given him a quick ticket out of the wilderness. Yet, a very important and necessary process would be prematurely aborted.  Jesus’s obedience to stay in the wilderness, surrendered to God’s work in his life, is key to the fulfillment of his call and destiny.  It is wise to stay in the wilderness, no matter how uncomfortable and inconvenient, until you are practically pushed out.

Finally, sometimes we can wonder “Where is God?” while we’re in the wilderness. I share more about that in the next post.  Find the first in this series here.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, either as one in the midst of the wilderness or as having traveled through the wilderness.

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*Taking a week away stretched me tremendously…. I had never left Charles and the kids for that long. Much of my wilderness journey was about learning to trust and depend on God more deeply, and so even the retreat grew me more in this way. Could I trust and depend on God to take care of my family while I was gone for a week?

**Some things aren’t negotiable. For instance, being a wife and mother is a non-negotiable responsibility and role. In fact, I took on those with a new level of intentionality which has born much fruit. Be wise about what you give up and what you continue to give yourself to.