We are all feeling the strain as American culture is moving increasingly toward an "open door" lifestyle, where there are no walls between our workspaces and no boundaries around our time. We carry our phones and make ourselves always accessible, basically saying, "Walk in, interrupt me at any time."But Jesus say, "go into your room, close the door..." (Matthew 6) and we watch him doing just that, going to the mountains or a lonely place, and shutting the door.
It takes special effort to protect the sacred mystery of our lives. Instead of always being "open," we need time that is set apart for being alone. There is so much to be gained from leisurely hours of solitude, time when we do not have to take care of anyone else, time when we can simply be with Jesus. We need blocks of time, even a day or two, when we can give ourselves permission to shut the door.
I think it's good to question why we feel we need to be connected. Sometimes it comes from a boss that demands 24/7 access to us, or a concern that our family needs to be able to get ahold of us. Sometimes it comes from an underlying fear of loneliness: we feel compelled to stay "open" when in fact no one is really requiring that we do. They tell us that they can live without us for a few days, but we still don't unplug. Why? We may be uncomfortable at the thought of not having anything to do and no one to talk with. It's helpful if we can exchange that worry about being alone with an anticipation of being drawn close to Jesus where we experience His love and our souls are satisfied. Maybe we can learn to envision being all alone as a threshold-- when we cross it, we enter into a deeper intimacy with Jesus.
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