21 Days of Monk-dom

I recently returned from a 21 day “monk retreat.” It wasn’t stringent monk-dom. I ate well (more than bread and water)…slept in a nice bed (no horsehair mats)…and still talked and interacted with people (no vow of silence). But based on 21st-century life, it was a drastic change of pace. No phone. No internet. No emails. No media. It was basically me, my Bible, and my journal.

I went to Abbie Lane Retreat Center in Coushatta, Louisiana. It is in a remote location in the middle of 80 acres of pine trees. The retreat center is designed for pastors who need time away with the Lord. The cabin is small but comfortable with a small kitchen, sitting area, desk, and outdoor porch. Walking trails, prayers gardens, and a chapel offer opportunities for worship, solitude, and connection with God.

My goals were pretty straightforward. Rest. Enjoy time with the Lord. Read through the Bible. Journal. Write. Reflect. And de-tox from constant media distractions.

I wanted God to meet me where I am in my life…refresh my soul…remind me of His abundant grace…recalibrate me.

And He did.

Here are five things that I learned from the experience.

1. There is a lot more time in the day than we realize.

The first day I woke up without any pressing sense of responsibility. I had the whole day to spend time alone with the Lord. I began at 6am reading through a Chronological Bible (a Bible arranged historically from Genesis to Revelation). After an hour of reading, I stopped, reflected, and prayed. Then I went for a long prayer walk, using some of the prayer gardens to spur my mind toward prayer. When I returned to the cabin it was around 9am. I remember thinking, “Wow, now what do I do?!” The three hours of reading, reflecting, and praying were incredibly refreshing but the day was only beginning and I had nothing else on my agenda. I thought to myself, “This is going to be the longest 21 days of my life!”

When there are no responsibilities on your plate and no distractions vying for your time, twenty-four hours can feel like a small dose of eternity.

2. We complain about responsibilities and distractions but actually like them.

Sitting there on the first day with extended opportunities of “free time” made me hunger to check my phone, check some emails, read some articles online, watch some sports, or do something to “fill the time.” I felt like I needed a break…when I was already on a break! I had a craving for distraction. I realized that, in many ways, I was experiencing a “media de-tox.” I don’t consider myself “addicted” to media. I set pretty good limits on my online time. I rarely watch TV except for sports. I am not a big movie buff. But having access to instant information has almost become an addiction to me. If a thought strikes my mind, something inside says, “Let me look that up on Google.” I want to check weather, check sports scores, see the latest news headlines, answer the endless list of emails. I hunger for information…even when it is fairly useless information.

Blaise Pascal, a brilliant French mathematician and a committed believer in Christ, once said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” I am not sure what inspired him to say it but he certainly touched on something deep in our souls. We complain about distractions but then seek them out with abandon. We complain about not having time to ourselves but then pack our schedules and our time to make sure we don’t have it.

To sit quietly alone is to sit quietly with oneself. To listen to one’s own thoughts. To deal with one’s own fears. To reflect on one’s own life. The inner quiet can be unsettling. You cannot run away from yourself. You have to live with yourself. And sometimes you simply aren’t quite sure what to do with yourself. Endless distractions and responsibilities keep all that inner angst at bay.

3. It takes forty hours to read through the whole Bible.

With time on hand, I decided to read through the Bible in those twenty-one days. I generally read in one-hour chunks, giving myself time to reflect, pray, journal, and process afterward. I kept track of my reading time because I was curious how long it would take to read from Genesis to Revelation. The answer…for me…reading at an average pace with time for underlining and writing small notes in the margins…was forty hours. Actually 39 hours and 16 minutes to be more exact.

It was quite a journey. The chronological Bible was different enough to make it feel like I was reading the Bible in a fresh way. It was neat to read through David’s life and then stop to read the Psalms that he wrote during these times…or to read the book of Acts and then have Paul’s epistles placed in Acts’ chronological timeline. Reading through the genealogies was still a challenge. I know they are important but the names start blurring together after awhile. And some of the historical and prophetic material was still hard to understand. The refreshment for me came in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes) and in the gospels and Paul’s epistles in the New Testament.

Through it all, I was reminded again of how messed up God’s people were at so many times in their history…and yet God remained faithful, patient, and abundantly gracious. We are all messed up to some degree and, if we are honest, we will see ourselves throughout the Bible…and have ample opportunity to praise God for His grace in Jesus Christ.

4. God is enough.

The first few days did seem like an eternity. It took me awhile to gain a new rhythm to life. But by about the fourth day, I began each day with anticipation and excitement. Reading. Praying. Exercising. Drinking a smoothie. Walking. Writing. Eating lunch. Resting. Making a nice afternoon coffee. Writing. Eating dinner. Reading. Praying. Journaling. Sleep. I built in other breaks along the way. Driving to Natchitoches for some grocery shopping and walking along the river. Driving to Bossier City and eating at a Johnny’s pizza buffet for lunch (and I admit, catching some of the scores of March Madness). And playing nine holes of golf at the Coushatta Country Club (inappropriately named for a local municipal course with weedy fairways and grassy traps).

But most of my time was with the Lord. Allowing myself to know Him, praise the beauty of His creation, and rejoice in His grace. Reading through the Bible gave me a chance to hear His voice…not as a teacher or shepherd but as a sheep needing His Spirit to speak to my heart. Walking through the nature trails and prayer gardens gave me a chance to reflect on His Word and on His hand in my life. Writing gave me a chance to express my thoughts to Him and remember events in my life that I had forgotten.

I found peace…I found rest…I found joy in Him.

He is enough.

5. I am not a monk.

The time with the Lord was needed. The time alone was needed. The time without media was needed. But I am not planning to retreat from this world and live in a monastery any time soon. At times that kind of solitude seems enticing…even entrancing. But it is only one aspect of life…only one aspect of relationship with God. We need others. We need interaction. We need to be involved in ministering to others, relating to others, worshiping with others, dealing with each other’s problems, failures, and “stinky, dirty feet” (John 13). And even media has a place in the overall enjoyment of life. Though I missed most of March Madness, it was fun to come back and watch the Final Four and the national championship. There are good things in life to enjoy…and it is good to enjoy them.

The key is balance…finding a healthy rhythm to life. Giving God your mornings (or whatever time is best for you) without media, without distractions. Putting limits on your phone. Setting aside a Sabbath day each week to reconnect with God and with others in your family. Protecting the priorities of your life. Working on your relationships. Maintaining physical health. Finding activities that refresh your soul. Taking notice of the glories and beauties of God that are all around you.

Bottom line…you are not in control of this life.

The rotation of the earth does not depend on you.

The sustenance of your own life is even outside of your control.

The world will still go on if you turn off the news, stop reading the paper, and don’t know all the latest headlines.

So don’t waste your life worried about that which is outside of your control.

Instead rest in Him.

Live each day for His glory.

And find a reason to give thanks today.

That is the secret of a life well lived.

With or without a monastery.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

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8 Responses to 21 Days of Monk-dom

  1. Tim Bergstresser says:

    Nice post. I can relate to several parts of it, particularly, “Endless distractions and responsibilities keep all that inner angst at bay.” That’s me. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Dorothy Carlton says:

    So enjoy your blog. Just saw your parents a couple of hours ago at the fair. They seem like they are thriving.
    We are very proud of you and your ministry. Bob and I teach a young adult Sunday School class at Lake Asbury
    Baptist Church and we love it. I have referred to you and your ministry in SS. Congrats on soon gaining a
    daughter. Exciting times. Best Regards.

  3. admin says:

    Thanks, Dorothy! So good to hear from you. I pray that your family is doing well as well!

  4. admin says:

    Thanks, Tim!

  5. Cindy Cochran says:

    The older I get, I’m now 62yo, the more I feel pressure to do things and complete projects that I’ve always wanted to do. I now struggle with trying to do too many things at once, and being interested in too many things. I find it hard to drop those interesting things that really don’t matter. I’ve said so many times; just recently to Jan Fugler that time seems to speed up the older you get. A regular day flies by. I catch myself looking at the clock and wondering where the day went. You point out and validate what I’ve known deep down, that we fill our time with distractions and it makes our days fly by. I ask the Lord every day to help me focus on what’s important but stubbornly I tend to do what I want. Thank you for sharing your experience with being still before the Lord and removing the distractions that call out to us. I will sit down and talk to Jesus tomorrow morning and make a simplified focused plan.

  6. John Sarris says:

    I started commenting and ended up journaling about fleetness of time and the importance of relationships, God – family – friends. Everything under the sun. Solomon was a wise man.
    Welcome back, pastor!

  7. admin says:

    Thanks, John! God’s blessings on you, brother!

  8. admin says:

    Amen, Cindy! We all need a good sit down with Jesus to figure out how to abide in Him in the midst of a crazy-busy, distraction-filled, self-focused culture.

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