Wednesday, January 30, 2013

If I could just be still.

I've had  a few moments of down time lately. And by down time I mean a few hours here and there in between running around, cooking, working at the church, being a chauffeur, and whatever else I find myself doing these days.

It has been nice.  I'm one of those people who plan every minute of every day if I can.  When my schedule gets derailed I really struggle. (Reminds me of a book I read last year called We Plan, God Laughs by Sherre Hirsch).  So when I have down time I wonder around aimlessly looking for something to do. 

After about the third day of down time God simply told me to "Be Still". A concept I have yet to grasp.  Be Still?  How can someone like me be still?  How can I sit and do nothing? How can I rest?  There is so much to be done.  Something always needs cleaned.  Laundry barely gets finished before I find myself with two more loads.

Be Still?

Honestly I feel lazy if I'm still.  My children could always use more mommy time. My husband would surely appreciate more time with me.  If I'm still does that mean I'm taking time away from them?

So, I've sat still for a few hours at a time. (It's a miracle I tell ya)!

What I've discovered is that instead of taking time to develop my children or marriage or career I develop myself.  When I think about it, a better me makes for a better mother and all of those other things I just listed.  I may even take time to listen more intently to the heart of God.

What have I learned? Too often when I'm still I let the enemy of my soul whisper things to me,  Sometimes I don't even realize it before I've and gotten angry about something that really isn't worth the thought. I start feeling depressed, stressed, unappreciated and like my goals are never going to happen.  So I simply keep busy.

What am I going to change?  I'm going to be still more often.  And when I am, instead of having "stinkin thinkin" about life I'm going to listen to the life giver.  I'm going to seek until I find him.  Knock until He answers.  I'm going to just be still and know that He is God.  (There I go again, planning my "still" time).

Please tell me I'm not alone.  Are any of you guilty of staying busy to keep from thinking too much?  I encourage you to take time to be still today.  I doubt very seriously you will be sad you did. 


"Be still, and know that I am God............."
Psalm 46:10

2 comments:

Unknown said...

My dear friend, you are not alone. I needed to read this. The enemy has been working hard on my heart in my alone time. I will refocus and be still and seek His face. Thanks for the pep talk # love you!

Unknown said...

You are most definitely not alone. It's hard to be still when there's so much to be done and so many temptations of other ways to fill time. This is a great reminder and I'm so glad you shared it!