"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 NRSV
This morning going through Facebook posts, one caught my attention: "Some days you just have to turn the quiet up." (Thank you Marie, for posting that~)
Often on this blog I talk about living with and coming to peace with what we cannot do in our work, our homes...in our lives... to understand a "new normal" in our lives. We also talk here about what a great opportunity we have to open our hearts to the opportunity for spiritual growth that God has placed before us in this time. The quote today struck me, because it gives a clear picture of someone being active in choosing quiet... in choosing to be still in this place where God gives us the opportunity for deep inner growth.
It struck me that having chronic illness doesn't automatically mean that we will grow spiritually more deep, any more than throwing a fish into water means that it will live. The fish has to move. Now, it moves, because it is alive, but it also is alive because it swims. The two go together.
We do not automatically become spiritually deep because we've been thrown into these difficult waters, but if we're willing to take some action, make some choices to nurture our hearts and be still so we can grow closer to God, like a fish swimming in water, we cannot help but be supported by the vast ocean of God's presence.
Just as before we faced long-term illnesses, there is much in our world that seeks for our attention. Even now we can sometimes have so much going on in our mind, that although our bodies are not protesting, our minds are far from still.
The words of the Psalmist today remind us of God's call to come away and be present with him for a while...to still our minds as well as our bodies so that, as we turn the noise of our thoughts down, and the quiet up, we are more able to hear the 'still small voice' that keeps calling out our name. How might you plan to turn the quiet up?
Dear Lord, sometimes the noise around us and within us become so persistent, so 'normal' that we forget we have the ability to turn up the quiet. Today let me be still and hear your loving directions. Amen.
1 comment:
Andrea, I heard that quote from Bishop Gene Robinson when we were privileged to listen to several sermons from him on vacation. I wrote it down as soon as I heard it because it struck me as well. I felt a warm covering of wisdom flow over me - haha :) I realized awhile I go that if I do something for the 3 Fs, I will feel like I'm moving forward a little - and not throwing Future Marie under a bus: Faith, Fitness, Finances. (I TRY to keep up with dishes and laundry.) I have a hard time fitting in Fitness, and if I don't record certain money transactions regularly, I have verrry stressful days later on. Connecting with God is paramount, for He is sufficient and if do allow ourselves to "be still," he gives us all the wisdom, perspective, peace we need. For an OCD "survivor," the 3Fs don't seem nearly enough, but they certainly are a guide for me.
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