Well, friends, this is bittersweet, because today we wrap up Season 5 of Whit’s End. In this episode, I interview Sarah Thomas, who joins us on sabbatical from across the Atlantic Ocean at a place called Capernwray Hall north of London.

I had the privilege of crossing paths with Sarah recently when I was invited to participate in a retreat she was leading in Colorado, a retreat that ended up being just what I most needed, a couple days of very vulnerable conversation with other women and long stretches of alone time with Jesus. In this episode, we talk about the importance of solitude - what it is, why it’s such a worthwhile spiritual discipline, and how we can practically pursue it. Sarah briefly shares her testimony and gives the back story of all that led her to start this ministry called Breathe that aims to help you carve out spaces for solitude right where you are. Let’s dive in!

IG: @dstforhim, @ministries.breathe

Show Notes:

breathe-ministries.com

https://torchbearers.org/

Quotes:

“I came into Bible school thinking I knew everything about Christianity, and I left four years later realizing just how little I understood and with a much better understanding of the actual gospel, which has a lot more to do with Jesus living the Christian life than Sarah living the Christian life. And that was important for me because I was putting a lot of stock into my own successful living of the Christian life.”

“Wow, I am tired, and I am 20+ years into ministry now, and I don’t want to just struggle, and fade, and not end well. And I don’t want that for my friends.”

“In my heart and mind, I felt there was a need for leaders to get together, to have a little more freedom in their time at a retreat, to be pushed into a little more solitude, and then to be around other like-minded leaders where they could really be real.”

“I think our greatest need is actually to meet with Jesus…The amazing thing is that he is fully available to us.”

“I believe solitude is a bit of a lost art, and it’s something that is not rocket science, and that I’ve begun to practice in my own personal journey not because I thought it was right and I must do this to be a good Christian, but because I recognize that I need Jesus to help me right now and I don’t know the next right thing.”

“Our God is a living God, and you know if we were just following a set of principles, we could just study. And there’s a lot of great quotes out there…but the reality is that you don’t know how God is always going to answer. And I think He’s a living God who loves us and He has His own plans, and believe it or not they aren’t always our plans.”

“We know from scripture, he’s after faith…He’s after your heart trusting Him…”

“Seeking the Lord in solitude is a posture of trust.”

“I have found more and more the Lord desires so much for me to just lean in, knowing my need for Him, trusting Him, knowing my brokenness and His ability.”

“Solitude is a beautiful way of expressing knowing our need for Him, our understanding of our need for Him. Then He surprises us.”

Verses

Psalm 73

James 4:8

Psalm 73:28

Psalm 91:1