Be still...

It sounds like an easy thing to do, "Be still.."

When our grand-daughters are with us, I resist the temptation to make that request of them about once an hour.  They are so busy.

After all there's just so much to do, so much to see, and you have only so many hours to address these options before someone older announces with sudden solemnity, "It's bed-time."
Then all of the fun stuff that the waking hours offer to a 4 and 6 year-old is boxed up and stuffed away until that same voice offers, "It's time to get up."

Fifty three years old about a week ago and I am familiar with the merits of "being still," but it is a trick for me to get there.

Last night, during a rare, quiet evening alone, my wife and I were watching a "romantic movie" on the television.  I know it was a "romantic movie" because it was listed as such when I searched the categories on Netflix.  It was nice.  It had some humor, some tenderness, but at the end in particular some sadness.  We watched silently those last few moments, and without a word, as the credits began to roll and the final song played, we put our arms around each other and held each other for several minutes.  No words.  A few tears.  Nothing had to be said.  In the silence there was a mutual thankfulness of the gift that we had been given of life....shared.

Wednesday night in a small group I am part of, a friend mentioned a recent time where he sat alone in a hot-tub in an outdoor, vacation setting.  He said that as he sat alone there, trying to relax, a list of concerns and daily troubles began to form in his mind.  In this beautiful stillness he was wrestling with the pressures of what he must do to handle these worries.   All at once, he felt the Lord break into the silence and say, "Just do what I ask you to do. That's all.  I will take care of the rest."  My friend said, it was overwhelming to know that this myriad of problems would be handled this way; that his God would intercede with such love and support in issues that felt like he would have to find solutions for himself.  In fact, the thought was so overwhelming, my friend admitted that as he sat there for an hour and a half in the hot-tub alone, soaking in the warmth of that quiet moment...he even cried a bit.

Now,  for the sake of myself and my friend I feel that I am obligated to mention that tears are not a necessary part of "being still."  

My point in all of this is to say when we wean ourselves away from distractions around us, some truly wonderful revelations can take place.

You might be flooded with joy at the knowledge of the special union you share with your wife.
You might recall with pride the achievements of present and past you have shared with your children.
You might see how Christ has come to your support through your family and friends right up to today.
You may marvel at the moments that He has used you to reach into someone else's life.
You may hear the voice of eternity speak even to you, "Well done my good and faithful servant."

There will come a day when instead of straining at the veil that separates, I will bust through the door into heaven and hear all things and know fully all things.

Until then, it is worth the effort, the discipline, the practice, the search, to just a find a way to....
                                                                                                  "Be still..."  (Psalm 46:10)