Often men and women suffer enormous anxieties and stress in mind and emotions because of the constant tensions of our modern society. Without realizing it their bodies, their nervous systems and their mental stability are strained to the breaking point.  In the movie, Enchanted April (adapted from the novel by Elizabeth von Armin), four women attempt to get away from their loveless marriages, their memories, their disappointments, the pressures of having to please others, of having to live up to their expectations, their lack of joy, by escaping for a month in Italy. There they recapture what they have lost.

Many has been the time when I have pounded the beach alone wrestling with anxieties, sorting out priorities, offering up my frustrations and fears to God, seeking his guidance and wisdom. Those times of solitude away from everyone else have renewed and strengthened me.

Spending time on the beach, strolling, walking, or simply sitting, we can be alone, private, not having to talk to anyone. There are no interruptions in those times – no telephones, no doorbells, no mail delivery, no one calling for attention, no traffic noise, no television or radio. We can simply be alone and enjoy the solitude.

Phillip Keller in Sea Edge maintains that the beach is a special place of peace. This strip of shoreline, that runs like a slender ribbon of sand between the ocean and the dunes, is a small world of precious tranquility. On this beach of sand and shells there rests an atmosphere of quiet repose and gentle contentment shaped by the sea. Enfolded in the endless, eternal action of  wind, waves, tides and currents, the beach breathes serenity and strength. It is a quality of life ever harder to find in our crowded world. The sea edge is a unique spot of seclusion and privacy. It is a place where a person can go to sit lost in thought, or take long walks thinking eternal thoughts, or repose in the sanctum of quiet communion with our Creator.

I do not have to be a saint, recluse or mystic to enjoy this environment. It casts its special spell upon the most common of us common people. This tranquility settles down in the soul and spirit as a sea bird settles down upon the shore. There the gulls and terns and curlews and pelicans rest on the sand, preening their plumage in peace. The warmth of the sun, the softness of the sea air, the drift of haze and sea mist wrap the beach in folds of quietude.

The hours spent in peace here are hours of healing. They are interludes of serenity for the soul, times for making one whole in the world of fragmentation and bruising abuse. The moments slip away softly, their motion as smooth as the murmuring movements of the sea, caressing the conscience, mending the mind, stilling the spirit.

Jesus modeled the value of getting away from others to seek this peace. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35) You can imagine what was on his mind as he anticipated his mission and went over the details of the challenges and trials he would face. He was human and had the need of divine help as we do. He was tempted in every way as we are. He found it difficult to enjoy solitude for long. Simon and his companions came looking for him because everyone was wanting his attention.

The place of solitude and peace does not have to be the beach – it can be any place where we can be alone with God. Jesus said, “when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6) The secret place is the place of solitude and peace. You will be rewarded for going there.

The problem is most people will not take either the time or the trouble to find their “place of solitude and peace”. They cannot be bothered to seek an oasis of serenity in the desert of their drab days. They have never discovered the healing stillness of some quiet spot where they can meet God and know him in gentle meditation. Henri Nouwen in The Way of the Heart writes, “Without solitude, we remain acolytes of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self.” In order to learn who we really are, we must have a place in our lives where we are removed from the materialism, entertainment, diversion, and busyness that the Vanity Fair of our society and culture immerse us in. Our identities are all too often synonymous with activity. Celebrities and pro athletes are the most dramatic example of lives that are anchored only in their performances, and out of their performances come their identities. As soon as they stop performing, their identities – and ours – disappear.

Crowded, pressured, driven, desperate, modern men and women rush on and on! It takes time to draw aside from the pressures of society. It takes time to enter deliberately into the presence of God. It takes time to commune with Christ as friend. For some people such time is simply not available. They feel it is wasted, thrown away, spent for naught. They would prefer to expend it on something more stirring and exciting – like a football game, a soap opera, or perhaps even the fluctuations of the stock market.

Many avoid solitude. They are afraid to be alone with their thoughts. They are intimidated by the idea of spending time in stillness, allowing God’s Spirit to speak to them. There is a certain discipline of the soul, a settling of the will, a determination of the spirit required to meet with God’s Spirit in a place of peace. It calls for much more than merely feeling like it. It demands a deliberate act of faith that in such a spot I shall meet the One who loves me and wishes only the best for me. Blaise Pascal wrote: “All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quiet in a room alone.”

The psalmist exhorts me, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Ps.46:10) He calls me to stop my activities and still my restless spirits before him. I find it hard to open myself to the incoming peace of the presence of the Most High. Rarely do I continuously expose my mind, my emotions, my will to the influence of His Holy Person. When do we invite the living Lord to search our spirits, cleanse our consciences, enliven our intuition, to bring us into close communion with Himself – the Christ of eternity, the One who loves us so profoundly. But if we do, we will be rewarded with peace – his peace. We will find that his promise comes true: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Peace that passes our human comprehension is not a quality of life which excludes us from the stresses and strains of human society. It is not a sheltered withdrawal from the wrongs that rack our world. Nor is it a cloistered existence in which we are cut off from the calamities and conflicts of our generation. The place of peace to which God our Father calls us is that inner acquaintance with himself whereby we come to know that all is well with our soul. This is the personal, private encounter with Christ which brings serenity amid the storms of life. It is the pervading influence of his own Spirit, so profound he speaks peace even in the midst of earth’s most formidable pressures. The peace he provides is not as the world supplies. His peace is of eternal duration. It is as timeless as the tides that shape the sea edge and form the beach. In his peace my soul finds strength, my days find deep delight.