Be Still

Today, I was restless. A full day turned in to a ridiculously full day before I even had a chance to roll out of bed. I was overwhelmed at the number of events I needed to attend and at the number of things I needed to complete on my to do list. As I showered this morning, I tried so desperately to hold every thought captive. (2 Corinthians 10:5)  Every time my thoughts would stray, I prayed, God, help me stay focused on you today, not on everything I have to do. As I dressed and furiously painted my face and coiffed my hair, that restless feeling returned. I left my hair somewhat unfinished and went to my bedside table and grabbed my bible.

I opened to Psalms 46:10.  BE STILL and know that I am God. BE STILL and know that I am God. God is perfect. God is loving. God is kind. God is patient. God is just. God is faithful. I started thanking God for every character trait that I know about Him.  God is my Father. He is a Strong Tower. He is the Great Physician. He is Omnipotent. He is Omnipresent. He is Omniscient. I then prayed through the Names of God and additional Truths that I know about God.  What I have found, over and over again, is that when I take the focus off of me, my troubles, my struggles, my worries, and focus on God, those troubles, struggles and worries seem to diminish if not disappear.

Yes, church was challenging. I had to pass out informational postcards for a ministry that I work with while trying to keep an eye on Zach. Zach got a nosebleed during the service, my husband Josh had to quickly take him to the bathroom and help him clean up. Lily was all over the place today but was so excited to serve in the nursery and then go to Sunday School. Target after church was extra challenging as it is Game Day and the check out lanes were a mile long. Crying babies everywhere, I had to reassure Zach over and over again that he could do it, to take deep breaths and to focus on me rather than the noise. (Zach has Autism and he already had on his noise blocking headphones. They just weren't doing the trick.)

When I got home, I had to prepare a large dish to share for the All Church Picnic at 1 pm and make Zach's lunch because he never really eats a full meal at a picnic.  I was delayed by unforeseen circumstances and wasn't able to meet Josh and Lily at the picnic until 1:30 pm. I struggled with a few challenging conversations and found I needed to just remove myself. And when we got home at 4:30 pm, I still had to fold five loads of laundry, wash and dry two more, do the dishes and clean the kitchen and pack backpacks for tomorrow.

But you know what?  It was such a good day!! Even with everything that I planned for the day in addition to everything unplanned along the way, it was a great day. Praise and Worship time meant so much this morning as Zach sang from the depths of his soul. My children had fun at the church picnic. They left with smiles on their faces and full tummies. My husband and I had the chance to visit with friends and enjoyed watching our children all play together at the park and in the ball fields. I have all my house work done and even enjoyed a solitary walk this evening.  In all the busyness of the day, I reminded myself to BE STILL. To be still in the presence of God. To pray and thank Him for who He is and all that He does.  To tell Him that I love Him. I was still in His presence. I wasn't asking for anything. I was still and acknowledging that He is God.

Be Still. To be calm. In deep silence. Stillness. Quietude. Transfixed. Still means all of these things. Why should we be still? Be Still is a command from God. Not a suggestion. When we are Still in His presence, that is when God speaks, moves, heals our hearts, encourages us, directs our steps and can be Glorified.

How I thank God for a simple, two word command that means so much.

So every day, tomorrow included. I will Be Still in His presence before I start my day. Before I let the challenges of the day worry me or my concerns take a hold.  I will Be Still before my God.