“I daily seek a quiet place that's far from trouble and strife, where I can piece together all the puzzles of my life. It's there away from TV, and far from the telephone, that I can fellowship with God, just He and I alone.”

From “A Quiet Place” by Glenda Fulton Davis.

Ah, for more quiet places in our lives. They are scarce, aren't they. Too scarce.

Usually, I'm not one to make predictions, but I am predicting that our longing for the quiet places will become more than longing in the next millennium.

We are far more than fed up with the noise and congestion that consumes our day to day lives, aren't we? A revolt is on the way. A long overdue revolt.

How will you change your life in the coming century?

Am I talking New Year's Resolutions in November? Nope. I'm talking life changes. And if we are going to be prepared, come Jan. 1, to put change into place, we should start getting ready now.

I, for one, am opting for more simplicity. I have not decided yet how much activity I will have to cut out, if any. Perhaps I could even accomplish more, activity wise, if the change takes place on a deeper level.

A deeper level? Yes, that fellowshipping-with-God level. A real communing with my Maker state of mind. You know, talking more with the one who has all the answers, the one who knows and loves all.

Hard to believe, isn't it? That He loves all... But He does. He loves, because He knows. We, with our limited insight, cannot know all. We are incapable of understanding all (or sometimes any) of the “whys” that forever dot our paths.

So, how do we find more quiet places? How do we simplify?

Personal questions, aren't they? You must ask yours, and I must ask mine. Are there some universal answers? Maybe. But even if the answer is the same in most cases, each individual must ask the questions in his or her own time, and own way.

A tremendous source of unrest in my life has been my psychic ability, or sixth sense. Don't gasp. We all have it, to some degree or another. When that strange awareness I have is especially keen and I start picking up on things that I can do nothing about, and, in all honesty, things that would appear to be none of my business, I can get pretty bent out of shape.

None of my business, that is, unless we are all truly in this thing called life together. Only the one who knows all, and understands all, has the answers. Right?

So, if we need more quiet places in our lives, we must make more quiet places in our hearts. And if we want more simplicity in our lives, we should start getting rid of some of the clutter in our minds.

Now, can we do it alone? Or do we ask for help from the one who knows all and understands all?

We have mistakenly decided, in this disgustingly busy world we have created, that quality time with those we love is better than quantity. Ah, the lies we believe and spread. The relationship that does not receive both does not survive.

Oh, God's still out there. He still loves us. But we cannot benefit from that love, from the storehouse of indescribable wealth he longs to share with us, unless we spend time with Him. Quality time, and lots of it.

In Paul's dissertation to the church at Galatia concerning walking in/by the Spirit, he described the fruits, or gifts, that are ours when we walk with God. He talked about stuff like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...

Look around you. How many folks do you see and hear and interact with every day that you are certain must be walking with God, because of these traits?

See what I mean?

The ever elusive quiet places may be the key. Let's find them again, and spend more time there, so we can have a plan when the next century gets here.

You and I, and all the world, will be better for the time we spend in our quiet places getting ready for the revolt that's coming.

I called my sister and read this column to her before I e-mailed it to all the papers. She said, “That column makes it sound like it's going to be real hard for me to simplify things; I don't like it.” She said I should take out the part about psychic ability and “simplify” the message/s herein. I'll let you do that. You can fill in the blank spot with your own frustrations. We are, as I said, all in this thing called life together.

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