Be Still

I have a bit of a confession to make.  I have a really hard time being still.  My family  hates watching movies with me because I am always asking questions due to not paying attention.  If I am going to watch a movie I usually have a magazine or my cell phone so I can pin lots of things on Pinterest, that I will never actually use and possibly a bottle of nail polish.I was thinking back to when I was younger and I think I have always had this little issue.  I was never officially labeled but I think I may have mild Attention Deficit Disorder.  I have painstakingly worked hard at my lack of ability to be still.

Being still is such an important attribute.  There is something so incredibly peaceful about sitting in complete silence, don’t get me wrong it has not always been that way for me.  I think for years I filled every moment with something.  The other hard part about being still is it makes me feel guilty at times.  My husband will tell me to just sit down and relax and although it sounds wonderful a bit of my own self-worth comes from the doing.  No one else puts that on me, it is mine, I own it.

As I get older I am realizing the importance of being still.  I don’t want to miss a single important moment in the moments God has given me.  We recently went to a beautiful funeral of a mother and grandmother that was still young and should have had so much life ahead.  For reasons we cannot answer God called her home early.  It made me reflect once again on my own life.  We never know when our time is near.  Why do we get so caught up in things that really are just of earthly importance?  Why do we feel a need to fill every waking moment doing and what are we doing it for?  There is a good point to stopping and smelling the roses, to watch a beautiful sunrise or sunset or to just sit and hold a sleeping baby.  In all those things we see glimpses of God and how he cares for us.  If we don’t slow down we will miss the things that matter most.

I see a generation of people that work themselves frazzled while kids are being raised by daycares, I see school age children left to their own devices and parents actually telling them to go watch TV or play on electronics to get them out of their hair.  I am watching a generation of teenagers all around me crying out for attention.  They want our ears to talk to us and tell us things that sometimes are painful to hear, they want our eyes to see that they are going through things that are difficult and most of all they need our time.  Not a quick pat on the back but for us to really be there, involved in their lives.  Our young adult children still need our guidance and reassurance that they are going in the right direction. We need to Be Still with them, teaching them the same thing.  The best time to hear God is in the quiet still times.

There are many things in our daily life that can wait, time does not stand still and you can never get back what has been used.  We need to make every effort to make all moments matter. What good is it for us to work like crazy people to make extra money but miss the important things in our families.  My granddaddy said two things right before he passed away the first thing he said is, “only that which is done for Christ will last”.  The second was “your family is the only thing you can take from this earth to heaven with you”.  Think about those together for a moment, where should you be spending more time?  Does that nice new car that you have to work overtime for really matter?   Take some time to be still and see what God would have for you to put a little more focus on.  Don’t worry about tomorrow just be still for today.  Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  Just be still for today.

Until Next Time…