Why Can't I Just Go to the Bathroom Alone?

I don’t know about you, but there are times when I just need to be able to go to the bathroom by myself without interruption. Can I get a witness? Sometimes that is the only place where I can sit and think. Sometimes that’s the only place that I can be alone. Sometimes that’s the only place where I can cry. A sweet friend of mine says she hears from God best when she’s soaking in the tub. Part of the reason is because her little darlins are in the bed at that time, and she won’t be interrupted. You know, sometimes a good cry is all I need to get it out – whatever “it” may be. “It” may be stress, grief, sadness, exhaustion. “It” can be any number of things. Sometimes I just need to be alone, and be alone with God to tell my Daddy what’s hurting, what’s on my mind, what’s burdening my heart. Tell my heavenly Father what it is that has me toxic, cranky, stressed, moody, sensitive, etc. You get the picture. There’s an old hymn that says A little talk with Jesus makes it right. Sometimes we all need that, and IT IS OKAY! Ladies, if Jesus took time for himself, what makes you think that you don’t need time for yourself, by yourself, and with your heavenly Father? It’s not selfish. It’s healthy. There are days that it is for the health and welfare of my children that I go have time with Jesus to lay it all down.


I’ve been reading Matthew 14 heading toward the time when Jesus will walk on the water, but on the way there, we discover that John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, was decapitated by Herod. The disciples of John the Baptist secure his body and run to tell Jesus what happened. Verse 13 says, “When Jesus heard about it, He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone.” Just think of that lake as a big bathtub. The whole time he’s headed over to the remote place he may have been talking to his Father. The people heard that Jesus was headed to this remote place (in our case the bathroom), and they run ahead to meet him. Have you ever been on the brink of falling apart and you’re trying to get to a place to unload and cry, and just before you get there, the little people or people in general prevent you or block you from getting that time you need? I have to confess there have been times I haven’t handled it too well. But Jesus being our example shows compassion. Verse 14 says “When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick.”

He needed time to grieve. He wanted time with his Father. He was looking to retreat, but when he saw them, instead of being upset or angry, exhausted and frustrated, he had compassion. Yep, that one walked on my toes a few times and kicked me in the shins. Not only did he have pity on them, but he healed them. And if he wasn’t exhausted enough, he fed 5000 men plus women and children. How many times have you survived a difficult situation and endured everything that followed, but when you look back you wonder how you had the energy? As Jesus blessed the food he looked up and prayed over the five loaves and two fish – notice how those equal seven (the number of completion or perfection? It’s not a coincidence. It was God winking).

And after the meal was over and everyone was fed until they were full, they took up the extra totaling 12 baskets. You ever wonder why they took up the extra? Was it to show everyone how generous God was? Was it to show that God can meet your needs exceedingly more than we ask? Was it because they didn’t believe in wasting food that could be given to the poor and the hungry that were not among this group of folks? Maybe they made a casserole with it and took it to the shut-ins. What are you doing with the left-over in your life? Are you taking them up and giving them away? Or do you hoard them and squirrel them away for a rainy day? When was the last time you cleaned out your closet of clothes you haven’t worn in a year’s time and gave them away? Just like the crowd that day received an unexpected blessing, you received the blessing of having clothes in your closet or too many toys in the playroom, but like the crowd that day, are you willing to give your blessings away?

After Jesus fed the 5000 men plus women and children, he sent the disciples away and he dispersed the crowd, and Jesus was finally able to have his time alone to pray.

Sometimes we get distracted from meeting our own needs for something just as important, someone else’s. Jesus was headed to some quiet time when the crowds approached him. He got side-tracked, but after loving on the people and meeting their needs, Jesus made sure he got his time alone. There are no excuses that will work for your not having time with God. If Jesus needed it, so do you.