I’m an extrovert.
I know that’s news to all of you. 😉
Anyone who knows me well knows that I thrive around people…that I need them in order to be sane.
In fact, the reason I love being a stay-at-home mom is because I’m not alone…I spend my days with this fantastically, energetic, wonder of a little girl. But we also get out a lot…grocery shopping, Target, Bible study, play places, coffee dates.
I make it a priority to be sure we’re around people often…because that’s how I thrive.
However, in the two years prior to this one, God taught me some very important lessons through something very out of my ordinary.
Solitude.
When I got pregnant with Maelie, I was so, so sick. I spent most of my days in bed with no company other than my sweet puppies and my pembantu, who would spend time with me when she could.
Because it was my first year at home and I wasn’t teaching, I also felt very disconnected from school life and really only had two friends, who I would see occasionally, but not often.
It was a very lonely existence, and I couldn’t wait for Tobin to come home after school just so I could have someone near me.
I also went through solitude in a different way last year.
See, we moved to this new place where we didn’t know a soul. And even though I did make some friends after a month or two, I still didn’t have a car. That meant a lot of days at home…and though I am extremely thankful that I had my Mae, I definitely longed for adult interaction…and welcomed Thursdays by literally jumping out of bed. 
But I was thinking about those years today and how they were good…
And how God was good…
despite the Solitude.
On those days when I didn’t even have the strength to get out of bed, I’ d talk to God. I learned, really learned, how to talk to my Father that year. He also showed me that though He doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we would like, He was still enough for me that year. That on those days when I didn’t have anyone, I had Him.
And last year, He taught me so much of the same. How He could still give good things…like friends who love us and a great place to be…even if I didn’t have a car and even if I didn’t get out often.
I know these lessons seem small in comparison to the many things people deal with in their daily lives, but they’re BIG to me.
Because I’m a girl who thrives in a crowd…and I learned to thrive in solitude, too.
Thank You, God, for those alone moments…and for what You teach me through them.
And thanks for not making me be alone so much anymore, too.
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