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Good morning.Ìý I grew up listening to many genres of music in my parents house - from the soulful tones of Randy Crawford to the ballads that my mother sang in the kitchen. There’s a favourite song that cuts across the generations: Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding. The lyrics are very sad: ‘it looks like nothins gonna come my way’ and so ‘I’m sittin on the dock of the bay, watching the clouds roll away’.
At times, these words can probably resonate with most of us. There are moments when we feel very alone, through times of sickness, homelessness or unemployment. There is the loneliness of bereavement that does not go away with a new day.
But there is a loneliness too that - with faith and spiritual courage - we can use to bring us into a closer relationship with God.Ìý Several times, the bible speaks about Jesus drawing away to be by himself with God.
It may seem bizarre to seek loneliness, but many holy seekers of God have taught that there is a necessity to do this - to sit with stillness and come to know God, away from the noise and busyness in our lives.Ìý Some of my times of greatest learning about God have happened in suchÌý moments. There’s wisdom in seeking stillness and aloneness, and to work with it, as an experience that can contribute to our wellbeing here on earth, and help us understand something of the life to come.

Lord, we pray today for those who see no end to their lonely lives, and ask that we may help them.Ìý In a world that is often fast and busy, we pray that we may learn how to be still - and to find wisdom in those moments.Ìý AmenÌý
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