Couch Time

I have a lot of time on my hands these days since I got out of the hospital a few days ago. It’s not fun being down and out, but I have found some good in it.

My “couch time” has reminded me that I’m probably like most people. We have a hard time with silence, solitude and being still. Keeping busy gives us value. If not careful, I can be busy even on the couch! With a touch of a screen, I can enter into a world of thoughts, opinions, and random status reports that can actually bring a little entertainment.

But, I’d rather make this time special. It’s in the quietness that I notice things that I would rather not notice or feel. It’s in the silence that I realize once again that the world can go on quite well without me. It’s as I settle into “couch time” I’m reminded that this time alone with Jesus is well spent. We humans think that doing nothing means we’re wasting time. But there's treasures available to us as we slow down!

In the last few days, I've been dwelling on some of God's promises. The words of the Scriptures seem to be calling out to me like never before! Could it be that I am listening more? Alone without distractions, I'm in a place where God can reveal things to me that I might not notice in my normal busy life......

“The LORD is my shepherd; I lack nothing.” Psalm 23:2

“The Lord God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31

“Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence- The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6

Couch time doesn’t have to be so bad. God will use even this to change me and make me more like Him. 

Activity: Spend 15 minutes or more alone with God. You can do an activity if you wish: walk, run, drive, or sit on your deck. Dedicate the time ahead of you to God. After the time is up, consider how it was for you to be alone with God. Was it hard? Good? Did God speak to you in any way? (pp. 113-114, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun)

“In a noise-polluted world, it is even difficult to hear ourselves think let alone try to be still and know God. Yet it seems essential for our spiritual life to seek some silence, no matter how busy we may be. Silence is not to be shunned as empty space, but to be befriended as fertile ground for intimacy with God.” Susan Muto

“We are so afraid of silence that we chase ourselves from one event to the next in order not to have to spend a moment alone with ourselves, in order not to have to look at ourselves in the mirror.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.