12:00pm, Saturday 1st October, 2016.
In a ‘matatu’, travelling for a Bible Study leaders training at Karatina Univeristy main campus. Due to the busy schedule, I am trying to go through my notes once more to ensure good mastery. However, the marram road leading to the only university in Karatina is quite rough and we are crammed up in the small 5 seater vehicle, which now has a whole 11 of us. (It’s hard to ‘Hesabika’ in such an environment). The imbalance caused by the state of the road soon causes me to give up the warming of the notes and I settle on doing something different; rethinking my life for the past few days.
My hopes of thinking are thwarted not long after. The kikuyu music inside the vehicle is blaring. My neighbor seems to be leaning and knocking me now and then as the vehicle chucks us side to side. The billboards (rather small posters) have many things to announce. Nature captures my attention, and I start marveling at the greatness of God…but not for long; a vibration on from my phone soon reminds me of the existence of WhatsApp and Facebook, among others. Before I realize it, I’m at the Karatina University gate! It is at this instant that I am reminded its long since I had a moment of silence or solitude. It is long since I had a “Me-time”…since I sat still to know that He is God; since I recounted His faithfulness, and since I evaluated my life. Back in my abode, my laptop is always playing music, the dishes, the laundry, the cooking, the reading, the devotions, the work, the…!
In the modern world where noise is all over, we have to be deliberate to practice the discipline of solitude and silence. The purpose of solitude and silence is to be able to see and hear. We hear God. We learn (through evaluation) when to speak and when to refrain from speaking. We see our mistakes and move on, and above all, we get to know God and to praise Him having been reminded of who He is. May God help us!
