I have been bemoaning to my husband lately that I feel overwhelmed and overstimulated. I am working from home, managing my children's virtual learning, and keeping up with household tasks. My mind also constantly turns toward what is happening outside my door: what are the latest local COVID restrictions and is the air quality, given the nearby wildfires, clear enough for the kids to play outside? Additionally I have a new smartwatch, and I notice that if I wear it to bed (yes, for sleep tracking) that it vibrates throughout the night if I receive notifications. It was interrupting my sleep more than it was helping me get a good nights rest. My mind is working overtime.
Sometimes we need to "turn off."
We need to be quiet and still.
Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10)
“Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.”
For many of us it is a challenge to be quiet and still.
Or perhaps for many others, there has been too much quiet lately. Plans have been cancelled and social gatherings have decreased. Lots of time is spent at home and if you're not working and schooling, you may have noticed an increase in silence in your home. What have you learned about yourself in the hush and calmness? What has been easy? What has been hard? What can you share with the rest of us?
St. Patrick reminds us that Christ is indeed found in quiet. As Marilyn Chandler McEntryre writes in her book Christ, My Companion, "centuries of testimony by those who have faithfully sought the company of Christ confirm the necessity of quiet to the most intimate encounter."
Resting in God's presence is a hard discipline and my guess is that even if your schedule has slowed this year, you have found other noise to add to your day. Perhaps the television is on more often with the endless news cycle and you too need to find quiet.
Before the school year began, my family escaped to northern California for a few days of rest. We purposefully chose to stay in a place with no WiFi, so we would not be tempted to watch Netflix and scan Facebook for the thousandth time. We needed to unplug and leave room for family and most importantly, for God to speak and for us to be able to hear.
In these days, I find quiet by moving from my desk to outside. Even five minutes with a cup of hot tea on our porch is restorative. Perhaps you can find repose during a child's nap. Perhaps you can walk the dog and look at your surroundings instead of tuning in to a podcast. Maybe you can eat lunch alone at the kitchen table.
Where will you intentionally find quiet this week?
What do you hear in the quiet?
I invite you to be still this week and listen.
What is God saying to you?
Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash