Stillness is a word befitting of winter. We all have seasons where we are recovering from being really busy. Seasons when we are wrestling inside, or facing change – welcome or not. Times when your insides are all in a turmoil and you feel like you are falling short in even the most mundane things. We don’t feel still. At all. Those are the times when there is a lot of (sometimes raging) noise. Sometimes we don’t even know how to rest.
“Be Still and know that I am God”
Sometimes I don’t even know how, yet, in the midst of stillness is where my heart must take the time it needs to answer questions, to ponder deep thoughts, to evaluate, and to be silent.
Take a deep breath.
I remember my Grandma's words when, as a small child, she brushed my very tangled hair -- "SIT Still!" Of course I was squirming and squiggling my way away from the pain. But I just needed to be still and let the brush do what it needed to do in my Grandma's capable hands. Soon the knot was out, Dippity-Doo was applied, and rag rollers were in.
The next morning, as she unrolled the ringlets, I saw the pay-off.
I think back to a Christmas season not long ago, when we had alot of snow. I remember myself, dressed warm and cozy and comfortably, walking outside, all alone at night, in the snow. The moon overhead and the city lights in the distance were set against the pink tinged sunset and reflecting on the snow. That is when I took the picture above.
I live in the country, so what I was breathing in was fresh and clean with just a hint of bold evergreen making it's way through the frozen air. We had been sledding earlier and now I was all alone for those few quiet moments. I could hear only my footsteps in the snow and a brief greeting from the cow who spotted me heading her way. All the snow from one high branch fell down at once and the branch wobbled as it was freed from the weight. But it did not disturb. I marveled at how it made a noise that did not disturb, but only accentuated the silence. But it did make me realize how still my mind had been up to that point.
Things melting away. Things shifting. Knots untangled. Being set free.
Lord, please teach me to be still. Please help me find clarity and rest.
