View From a Prairie Home

by Hege Hernfindahl, Columnist

If you take one of those introvert/extrovert tests, you will always be surprised. This is because most people have a strong notion of themselves as either an introvert or an extrovert and the test will show, you have almost equal characteristics of both. We like to be with other people; at times. We also like to meet new people; also at times, when we feel up to it. But all of us need alone time, a quiet place, where we can be by ourselves and ponder our own thoughts, without being disturbed by what other people mean or say.

Even Jesus needed alone time. Often, when the multitudes that craved His presence looked for Him, He was gone. He was up in the hills, talking to His Father. It gave Him strength to pray there alone with His Father. In church we sing about everyone needing a quiet place to pray.

I am retired now and have plenty of time to be alone. If I don’t take the time to be alone, I will get irritated, fatigued and often unable to make rational decisions. This happened plenty of times when I commuted 80 miles a day, worked full time teaching German and Norwegian, had three children who needed me and many papers to correct plus housework and a precious husband, whom I never wanted to ignore. At that time of my life, I tried to use my commuter time as a quiet time. I would turn off the radio and just talk to God or to myself. In this way, I was sometimes able to function fairly well both at work and at home. When my children were babies, my quiet time would be rocking them or nursing them. God’s peace would fill my heart as I looked down on their little downy heads, as they quietly dozed.

These days, my quiet place is in nature. Peace will enter my soul as I hike or just sit in God’s kingdom, contemplating the many miracles I see there. We are lucky to live far away from crowds and noises. And with the warm winter we are having, it’s easy to be outside in our grove. I collect sticks for our indoor fire. I look at my many flower gardens and wonder when I can start cutting down the perennials. I have read somewhere that it is in spring that they can get damaged by the frost and it is best to wait until warmer weather is a given. While I walk outside, I hear the honking of the geese looking for open water. I also see swans flying. One couple of swans has settled in a field nearby. I wonder if they too are confused by spring in February.

And it is indeed February; the wind is coming from the north today and my face and hands are getting cold, so I go inside. Our house is also a quiet place. The only sound is the now howling wind and the ticking of the clocks reminding us to enjoy the time we have left in this unpredictable world.

Being a garden enthusiast, our house is filled with plants. Going around and checking the myriad of green, living things also fills me with peace. Sometimes, I talk to my plants, which I have read is good for them. Some of them are blooming because we do have a lot of windows facing south.

I grab my knitting and go to a comfortable chair where I can watch the outside while my needles click away. Knitting, I have read, is a little like yoga. It calms the soul. I used to belong to a knitting group which I really enjoyed, but these days I am much more of an introvert, so I knit alone; the sun warming me through the window as I pray for peace.