BE STILL
into my heart.
Aaaaand then life came to a sudden standstill.
Our weather situation here has been insane!!! It snowed Sunday night, and not since--but the roads are treacherous due to the ice on the road, no above-freezing temps in sight, and a state that is unprepared for such conditions.
We rejoiced over Snow Day #1--A day to be home, nowhere to go! It was glorious. We snuggled with the kids, ran around in the snow, and had a blast. At one point I was sitting next to a roaring fire, aware that for the first time in a long time, I had nowhere I had to be (or could be, for that matter).
When they announced Snow Day #2, we were just amazed that now we were up to two days off! More relaxing, more family time, more eating yummy warm comfort foods, more not-getting-to-go-to-Zumba-ing (this isn't good for my waistline)...
And then they announced Snow Day #3. And I could feel my anxiety begin to creep up. After all, everything I do to contribute financially to our family requires that I be there to be paid--and no work, no pay. Not to mention the idea of not even being able to go anywhere. I've always told my husband I'll move anywhere, as long as I'm within like 15 minutes of a Target store. It's not even that I just love Target so much (okay, I do love it) but it's just that I love civilization that much! I know my husband would be totally happy living on the side of a mountain, cozied up to a warm fire, completely content that the nearest grocery store is a 40-minute drive away and charging $5.39 for a gallon of milk (this I know because this is how he was living when I met him--then I married him and we promptly moved within 3 minutes of a Target. Ah, civilization).
I digress. But I knew that this increasing antsiness over not being able to leave the house was more than your classic case of Cabin Fever. I knew it was a reflection of the condition of my heart!
I was worried about not working.
BE STILL.
I was stressed to be down to our last container of milk and just a few more slices of bread, and no way to get to the grocery store.
BE STILL.
I was frankly feeling ready to go and do.
BE STILL.
Both internally, and externally, He was calling to BE STILL. And for some crazy reason, it was not easy! How I went from delighting in not having to be anywhere to beginning to panic over not getting to go anywhere, I do not know--but it truly does mirror my frantic heart these days!
And maybe you can relate. You might not be snowed in right now, but maybe you feel circumstancially forced to be still. Maybe your heart is antsy. Maybe you are frustrated that you can do nothing but wait on the LORD.
These lyrics keep running through my mind:
Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is holy
Be still, oh restless heart of mine
Bow before the Prince of Peace
and let the noise and clamor cease
What if today could be about delighting in the stillness--not refusing it, but just drinking it in? We're going to have moments today when worry will try to creep in. But by His grace we're enable to cease all of our strivings and just plain know that He is God.
Be still (cease striving) and know that I am God
I will be exalted among the nations;
I will be exalted in the earth.
Lyrics: "Be Still and Know" Steven Curtis Chapman
Hi Thea,
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you feel, I am being forced to be still and I admit I don't like it, I feel like I could at least be doing something, being still seems so passive but sometimes that is all that He requires for now, but it is SO hard to do sometimes. Great post words I needed to hear today.