Christen Rouson

Side Note:  Yes, already!!!  As soon as I thought of a title for this blog, my brain nostalgically took a trip down memory lane.  Y’all remember Myspace???  OMG!  I loooooved Myspace.  Custom backgrounds and embedded songs, playlists, and videos…having to type out HTML codes just to get a heart and using punctuation to create a smiley face.  I miss Myspace…let’s all go back!  Durn you, Facebook for stealing all of it’s glory!  At least Tom sold it for $580 million.  Good move. 😉

This post is not about Myspace — the social media site.  Side note over..thank you for your patience.

| My Space |

Recently, me and my homie, JoJo, had a conversation about how many hours are in a week and what the average person does with them.  For kicks and giggles, I tabulated my week.

168 hours in one week:

• 37.5 hours at work (on the clock)
• 20 hours in class
• 42 hours of sleep (roughly 6 hours per night, if I’m lucky)
• 8.5 hours in the car traveling to and from work, class, and church (this does not including any other obligations or trips)
• 4 hours at church on Sunday (this includes a 45 minute early arrival and staying almost an hour later to fellowship with people)
• 4 hours at church on the Saturdays that have choir and praise team rehearsals

= 116 hours —  This total does not include other scheduled obligations that are not routine.  I am left with 52 hours, the equivalent of about two days, to hang with friends, spend time with family, clean my house, meal prep, grocery shop, have some me time, have space with God, etc.  My life is all over the place!!!!  I seem to be every where and everything besides STILL!  Because I have little time to be in one place, how can I find time to create “my space?”

Because I am always on the go, I have found that my place of peace is my car.  It’s just me and Cherri (pronounced “Sherry.”)  Most of my thinking is done in my car, too much of my eating is done in my car, heck, even my Saturday Vlogs are recorded in my car. #carchronicles It isn’t uncommon to see me parked with the windows down, listening to music while I wait to go to my next appointment, recover from being on the interstate far too long, or as I gain strength to trek it up three flights of stairs after a long day.  My car has become my personal sanctuary where I can sing loudly, cry freely, and think out loud.  My car has become my space.

“Your secret closet isn’t a place in your house, it’s a place in your heart.”

-Bishop William Murphy, III

When I was growing up, I would often hear my elders talking about going into their secret closet.  Errr…what’s that?  As I kid, I thought it meant they had like an extra pantry where they kept all the good snacks or a coat closet with fancy coats.  Maybe they had a room with bookshelves that when you pulled a certain book, the wall revolved and let you into a secret nook.  Shoot, I didn’t know; I was a kid!  As I got older, I learned that a “secret closet” was a place in one’s house where they would go to “turn their face to the wall” and pray.  Two things… #1: Why do you have to stare at the wall, and #2: why are you praying in a closet?  A little more age answered those questions.  “Turing your face to wall” simply means pulling away from and blocking out anything that could interrupt or distract this moment with God.  Furthermore, a “secret closet” isn’t a literal closet but a place that is designated for time spent with God.  Aaaaaah!  Now THAT makes sense!  Once I became a working adult, I was once again in a quandary.  I got a job, Jack…I don’t have time to sit in my secret closet, secret bedroom, or secret bathroom and pray all day!  These bills aren’t gonna pay themselves…I tried that when I left the unopened bill on the counter for a while and the service was disconnected!!!  Tuh!  Then a few years ago, I heard this quote by Bishop Murphy on Tasha Cobbs-Leonard’s song All Day.  The song’s chorus says, “All day I’ve been walking around, I’ve been talking with you.  All day; I’m determined to spend more time with you.  All day I’ve been walking around with you in my soul.  All day; my time with is going to make me whole.”  *insert epiphany*  Who says your “space” had to be limited to one physical location?  Fast forward to the present day when I only have 52 of 168 hours to create a space for the remaining needs and wants in my life, I literally can’t limit my time with God to a particular time of the day and room in my house.  After all, God isn’t confined by my chronos time or my 2 bedroom apartment… I sure hope He is a God that’s bigger than my 900 and something square feet!

“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

Matthew 6:6 [New Living Translation]

THE MORAL OF THE STORY

Okay so I know you think this scripture contradicts everything I just said about not being limited to one particular location in your house including but not limited to your coat closet, walk-in closet, pantry, or the closet with your hot water heater.  I promise this isn’t a contradiction…stick with me.

It is so easy to be demanded by everything and everyone, to be obligated everywhere, and to always be on the move.  (Refer to my weekly calculation of hours and my blog “DO NOT QUIT!” to see how this is possible in real life.)  With instant news and information in the palms of our hands at all times (because our cell phones are nearly attached to us…I’m guilty too), it is too easy to be distracted and pulled into the next thing, text, meme, or sub-tweet.  This scripture above gives us a few golden nuggets when it comes to praying.  If you read the verse before and after this one, it speaks against praying in public just for show or even babbling/repeating words over and over to seem all deep or whatever.  This scripture encourages a secret closet!  But remember what we’ve just discussed; that isn’t limited to a physical place in your home.  The point is to go into a private space where you can shut everything and everyone else out.  You need an intimate space where you can be the real you before your father and He can talk to His child.  For me, that place is my car, and when I need a moment with God while I’m out and about and I can’t go out to my car, my space is wherever I am.  I have no problem sitting at my desk, standing in line at the grocery store, or even sitting right in my theory class (as I did last night with Travis Greene playing in my headphones) and creating a place of worship and prayer.  This doesn’t mean I’m snotting and crying, throwing myself in the floor, and tarrying for the Holy Ghost.  It may mean I am simply allowing the joy and peace of the Holy Spirit to embrace and surround me.  (I’ll blog about peace very soon.)  “Your secret closet isn’t a place in your home, it’s a place in your heart.”

I challenge you today to create space for God.  Yes, set a specific devotion time and even a physical space if you can, but don’t stop there.  The space that matters most is the space you create for God in your heart and LIFE.  Allow an open line of communication where you can talk to Him and He can speak to you.  As for me, I talk to Him all day because I need him all day, and I don’t talk to Him in King James Version.  I’d rather just be real with Him.  Furthermore, I listen and look for Him in any and everything that happens throughout my day.  Whether it is in your car, at your job, in a room in your house, or simply in your heart, make sure you can say, “This is my space.”

I hope this helps.

–Chris ❤