A Still Place

Be still and acknowledge that I am God"

(Psalm 46:10)

            The world is a busy place and this message is not for June and I any more, but it applied for all the years we were raising our children, running three businesses, active in our church etc. I believe it is one of the reasons we made it through it all and the reason we are not overbooked seniors. (Note that I did not describe us as retirees!)

            Many Americans are overbooked; families are tied up every day with career and children’s activities; empty nesters seem to have filled the time with commitments; often retirees often do not know how they ever had time to work! That leads to a lot of stress, tension and often family failures. That’s correct; the family that plays too much together just may not have enough quality time to survive. They do not have time to call for help.

            In his book Bread for the Table, Henry Nouwen says it this way; These are words to take with us in our busy lives. We may think about stillness in contrast to our noisy world. But perhaps we can go further and keep an inner stillness even while we carry on … It is important to keep a still place in the "marketplace". This still place is where God can dwell and speak to us. …with that stillness God can be our gentle guide in everything we think and do.

Thought for Today: The varied conditions in our world are causing many of our friends and neighbors to go through unplanned changes in their lives. Let us pray that God will be a presence in their lives as they pursue the opportunities presented to them through these changes.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, the world around us is confusing, sometimes cruel and always difficult to understand. Please allow us time to step aside from our busyness and dwell upon "your will" rather than "our wants and needs". Let us find the peace or stillness to allow "thy will to be done on earth as it is in heaven."