Be Still

Be Still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)

The skies host the magnificent displays of the Creator. Every type of cloud adorns the clear blue backdrop. Swirls and wisps ballet around puffy flat bottomed clouds. It’s a treat for the eyes.

It’s spring in the mountains. The only thing predictable about the weather in these parts this time of year is the erratic inconsistency. The mountains, in their royal splendor, stand tall in the background playing games with the clouds pushing them here and there seemingly at will.

One minute I might be rolling up my sleeves to start some warm weather project outdoors and before the thought can become reality it’s squelched by a squall of snow, or rain, or any number of precipitation combinations. The wind is blowing. That much I can predict with a relative amount of certainty. I just won’t know how strong or from which direction, or the degree of the chill that will ride in with it.

It will some time yet before we start to see spring really make an appearance. For now I delight in the little things. The first robins who are brave enough to set up house early in the season, the green shoots of grass hiding cautiously under last years casualties, and the longer periods of daylight give enough hope to get me excited about the coming season.

I have even come to appreciate the Wyoming winds. Change is riding in on the wings of windy days and after a long winter, who isn’t ready for some change? I can even appreciate not knowing what to expect when I wake up every morning not to mention an hour from now. It’s a stunning reminder of the One who is in control. Sometimes no matter how noble my plans or how longingly I wish for warmer days God lets me know that He is the Creator.

Capricious conditions like these, in the changing Wyoming seasons and in the seasons of life, call me to slow down and take it in. I listen for the still, small voice that says, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) I muster the faith I need to be comforted by these words knowing that the God who whispers to me is the same God who said to the wind, "Quiet! Be still!” in Mark 39. “Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”

Be Present Where You Are

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus. Alexander Graham bell

I recently heard about a tragic, head on collision in which a driver was text messaging while driving. I’ve heard several similar stories. The why questions (some of them seemingly unanswerable) and the errors that seem so obvious after the fact churned in my thoughts. Errors of distraction like these seem obvious, avoidable, and easy to judge.

Eventually, my train of thought took me to another kind of err in judgment. What about the more ambiguous results of distraction?

It is no secret that my focus needs fine tuning. Alright, sometimes I’m not even on the right station. I catch myself thinking about what I’ve got to do at work when I’m at home and about all kinds of things at home while I’m working. No matter what I’m doing, it seems one buzz of the phone can transport me to any number of other areas of thought.

My “quiet time” and prayer time are not immune to distractions. In fact sometimes deciding to participate in these uninterrupted and focused snippets of time is just asking for trouble. I can be focused and less distracted, but it takes effort.

Even Jesus’ disciples had problems like these. In Matthew 26:36-40 for example:

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

When I’m praying, and my mind is playing back tapes of the day rather than focusing on the privilege at hand, how does this change the results? When I’m with my family and my unfocused mind takes me elsewhere, I am missing something, perhaps even altering the course of events. If I’m working and my mind is working on something else, I am clearly not doing the best job that I could be doing.

The work of our hands and the desires of the heart, planted and tended by a powerful God with a still quiet voice, require my attention. He is continually speaking, guiding, and directing me. I wonder how many times I’ve missed it because of busy-ness. Distractions, on the other hand, fall like assorted sizes of hail stones. Some are more damaging than others but it is unlikely I’d be hit by one and not notice.

If a driver can miss a car coming head-on towards them because of distraction then I could certainly miss an answer to prayer. What blessings have slipped past me without my noticing? How many opportunities to be a blessing have evaporated because of inattention?

Easter is a good season for new beginnings. I will be making a conscious effort to be present where I am and to watch for His hand in the details. Thankfully, His compassions are made new every morning.

That's Interesting

Jonah 4:10 But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight."

“That’s interesting.” I say it quite a bit and I hear it said even more. It’s true. A lot of things interest me. However, in today’s fast paced, over scheduled, information packed world I think it might help to be a little more particular about what I give my attention to.

At some point I considered the possibility of “that’s interesting” being an overused and slightly abused little phrase. The concept stirred me and I decided to delve a little deeper. In the process, I checked my trusty Merriam-Webster dictionary. A little way down the list of definitions I found one that grabbed my attention: “readiness to be concerned with or moved by an object or class of objects.” Since then, I have weighed a lot of interests by asking if something provided me with that readiness.

Of course, things I find interesting tend to get my attention. However, all too often I think it has just been whatever attention I had to spare for that moment. Then what happens? I guess, according to Merriam-Webster, I become uninterested which they define as “not having the mind or feelings engaged.”

This “discovery” moved me to be more conscious of what sparks my interest and a desire to be active in what moves and concerns me. Maybe it sounds like a no-brainer, but, the more I thought about it the less obvious the concept seemed. There are times when interests fall by the wayside while life revolves around necessities and the expectations of others. I fully understand that sometimes these things just can’t (and shouldn’t) be avoided and priorities have their rank. Then there's the risk of trying to be engaged in everything and everyone. Somewhere out there, balance exists. Without proper attention to what is in our hearts, I believe circumstances can readily be used as shovels to dig ourselves into ruts.

The nightly news is filled with dilemmas we face as a society from random shootings to global warming. I am considering the possibility that many of the issues on the news and others that manage to touch our lives might have some root in being uninterested or its close relative “indifferent.”

The following is an Elie Wiesel (holocaust survivor) quote:“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”

It’s a lot to think about. Does it interest you? It interests me. I have a readiness to take some kind of action. I have a pretty good list of excuses (a.k.a. good reasons) for not having done more. I have my fair share of time and financial restrictions. (We’ll talk more about that later.) Regardless, I want to take more forward steps, no matter how small. It beats running around in circles, which I have caught myself doing (figuratively, of course.) I’m not ready to save the world. I just want to be moved and concerned by what interests me; the things I find taking root in my heart. Please join me. I want to use this site to share interests and ideas for taking action. I would like to share with each other what we’re trying, what we’re doing, what’s working and what’s not. I look forward to sharing some of my ponderings and to hearing yours.

-Lisa