Where can your soul be alone with God?

The 'Holy of Holies' was innermost chamber of the tabernacle in the Old Testament days which could only be accessed by the Chief Priest alone. If you were a Chief Priest in those days, you must have entered with fear and trembling, because you knew that you had no other agenda than meeting the great I AM and soaking in His Holy presence. There must be no trace of unclean-ness upon you - yes, you were to leave everything outside before you entered. According to what I learnt once (I faintly remember that this has got something to do with the tabernacle - haha, some seminary student I am), a rope was looped around the ankle of the High Priest and someone else would hold on to the other end of the long rope while he entered - just in case he was struck dead in the Holy of Holies and the dead body needed to be dragged out.

Now that we, through the New Covenant, have been initiated into a priesthood whose Chief Priest is no other than Jesus Christ, God invites each one of us to meet with Him privately and regularly in the 'Holy of Holies' where there can be no distractions, nobody to eavesdrop on our intimate conversations (as well as confessions) with God and nothing to interrupt our awareness of God's presence. A place where God can minister to your soul... and where you can confidently and safely deposit the deepest secrets of your soul. Where is your 'Holy of Holies'? Where can your soul be alone with God?

When I had a roommate back in Dublin, my 'Holy of Holies' was in our dining room, where I would meet God way before anyone got up. I would quietly read my Bible and write in my journal. Somehow, the habit of expressing myself to God through writing stuck.

Since I am not a particularly verbal person, writing helped me to fully 'voice' out and crystallize many of my thoughts. I took my journal wherever I went. On buses, in noisy cafes, at the windy harbor... or in a quiet corner of our school library. Writing helped (and still helps) me to keep close to God. Up till today, I still find it the easiest to be alone with God when I am in the private (not to mention beautiful) world of journaling... Strangely, I lose myself in there - and I am hardly distracted by anything that goes on around me then. Sometimes I even forget that I am in a public place, until I catch my face pulling itself into some weird expression, find my eyes wet or suddenly laugh out loud. I can even do my quiet-time at noisy places. Not very 'quiet', definitely...and I do not do this all the time. But hey, it still works for me! My journals are interesting worlds, I feel. Reading them, I marvel at the amount of stuff I have confided in God - the embarrassing, humbling, sad, shameful, guilty, frustrated and furious... But I it is healing to know that God would meet me just as I am - yesterday, today and forevermore. Me, Grace. Today - still geeky, jealous, foolish, obsessed over the wrong things and insecure. But absolutely loved by God, no less... and eager to be transformed.

How about you? Do you have a special 'place' to meet God?