BEING STILL
IS ONE WAY – of welcoming God into our lives. Our culture does not always encourage this behavior. It is characterized in many ways when we are around others. In children, it is called “daydreaming” or wasting time and is criticized as at least different from others and can even be stigmatized as abhorrent behavior by some. It has also been called wool-gathering for adults, or we may be asked “where did you go just then” if we are around other people. There are situations when our minds do need to go somewhere else, but it seems to make others around us uncomfortable. All of this negative reaction to something that I think is a created and inherent part of us has a dampening effect on our engaging in creatively “letting our minds go somewhere else”. There are places where we can be alone, or among trusted people, where through our experience, we can engage in the behavior of “going to God”, or just letting our minds relax to pursue a creative silence. Clearly, when we are alone, it is “safe” to seek God in the stillness. But what if we can find no stillness within us? God will help us find it, when we pray and ask for it. So at some point each day, turn off the 24/7 news and in the quiet listen for God in prayer.
Psalm 46 seems to describe natural disasters and warfare [strife] as some of the experiences of life, but through it, we hear this message, 7 “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” We are called to acknowledge this fact, and let it do its work of calming our anxieties from what happens around us. Our fear is great and the world around us can be so dangerous. Doesn’t the news remind us of this? So we are called to take a deliberate step away from all the high emotions the world tries to stimulate in us, by turning off the clamor and becoming aware of God. “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” God has a plan that began with creation, and it is being worked out, despite all the evil happening around us. Purposeful God, we thank you that you have a plan and that you call us to be a part of it. Help us feel your love and grace through all the fear that evil generates. Help us turn to you for the guidance you give us, to show us the way through all the muck. Amen. PEACE
ordinary prayer 