10… be still

It’s 11:38pm and this is the first time I’ve logged onto my computer all day long.

After spending all weekend in class practically glued to my computer I needed a break today. I needed to read and dance and take care of precious little kids. I needed to listen to the rain and listen for God. I needed to read my bible and pray. I needed to take care of me. I felt depleted and heavy. 

So I left my computer underneath the pillows in my chair (yes, the same chair that previously housed all my clothes) and took a day to rest.

I don’t know if this is characteristic of all twenty-something-year-olds or if I’m simply neurotic, but my brain is always filled with 1,001 questions (plus 873 more in case I stumble upon answers to the first 1.001). And if I’m in a place where I think I have “everything”  figured out then the questions subside and it’s just roller coasters of thoughts. So basically my options of brain functioning are Grand Central Station or Six Flags. Either one is not so pretty.

“Being still” does not come naturally for me. I don’t think it comes naturally for anyone raised in America. We’re simply not taught how to do this…or even how to appreciate the art of “stillness.”

But here’s the thing…everyone can be still. Everyone can rest and quiet their minds and find some inner peace. It takes practice and a kind of  forceful surrender…but it’s so worth it.

I’m not talking about having the oh-so-cliche-and-difficult-to-prescribe “quiet time.” Where action-seekers are asked to write and verbal-processors are asked to journal through their problems…

I’m talking about finding rejuvenation: soul food.

The twenties are filled with tough questions, chaotic moments, and plain doubt and confusion.

But there can be peace.

Take time to spend with yourself and God. Don’t be scared. 

Be still. Be quiet. Breath slowly and deeply.

Listen…

…He is talking to you.

He has the stillness. He knows the answers. He makes the plans.

#10…be still.

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God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

–Reinhold Niebuhr