‘Let him who cannot be alone beware of community….
let him who is not in community beware of being alone…’
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
On one of my trips home from college (over 30 yrs ago), I excitedly told my parents about my new life two hours away. The long talks with my roommates, class discussions, social activities, church services, meals in the cafeteria, were all very new and exciting activities. After listening intently my dad asked, “When are you alone? It’s important to have times when you can ‘Be still and know that He is God.’” (paraphrase of Psalm 46:10)
Those words are some of the most memorable words I heard from my father. There are several reasons those words impacted me and stayed so clear in my mind. One, my father knew me even better than I knew myself. He knew that my tendency was to be very busy and fill my time with people, words and activity. And although I was attending a Christian college, he also knew dependence on God is an internal work not a group activity producing external conformity.
TJ Talks 