Be still

By Jessica Brodie

Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the high-velocity, overpowering noise level and energy of life. It's like my soul starts to twitch and thrum with the world’s pace, and after a while I feel weary inside.

At those times, I long for solitude and dim light, and I start fantasizing about having the time—or really, if I’m honest, making the time—to go for a walk in the quiet hours of the day, the early morning or the late evening, when soft sunlight filters through tree leaves and all I can hear is the sound of my footsteps on the earth.

God is with me always. I know this. But the vibrancy of the world sometimes makes it hard for me to really focus on Him. When I start feeling that ache in my soul for stillness and solitude, I've learned that is one key way my body and my heart are telling me to STOP, cycle back, and be still for a while. That I'm moving in the wrong direction. That I need to be still in the Lord, and know that He's the one in command and control.

And yet on days like today, I'm not allowing myself to do that. I'm running from here to there because I've committed to appointments. I've committed to plans. And that mere fact tells me something pretty powerful: my appointments and my plans are the ones I'm allowing to rule my life.

Ouch.

So today I vow: I'm going to fulfill my commitments. But then I'm going to slip on my sneakers and some soft clothes and take a little walk this evening in solitude... and reconnect one-on-one with my Creator.