Blessed
Quietness
When I had five small children and a husband who often
worked out of town for extended periods, the following was a typical scenario
when he arrived home from one of his trips.
It is only slightly exaggerated!
Me: Hi, Honey.
So glad you’re home. I love
you. Bye.
And out the door I would go. When I arrived home, my children would say:
Children: Where did you go, Mommy?
Me: The park.
Children: What did you do?
Me: Nothing.
Children: Mommy!
What did you do?
Me: Nothing.
I sat.
And that was literally the truth! I would go to a park and sit on a bench or at
a picnic table and do nothing. I simply
needed quiet.
On those terrible days when it was raining or very cold so
that the park was not an option, I would go to a store or a mall and just walk
around. I was not shopping; I had no
money. I would actually ask God not to
let a sales clerk approach me and not to let me see anyone I knew. My soul was desperate for quiet.
The Christmas season has just passed with children home and
then a short visit to a daughter’s house and I found myself playing that song
again—I need quiet! Of course I enjoyed
the visits! Of course I want to see my
children! But my soul craves quiet.
Some people seem afraid of the quiet. They turn on the radio or the TV just to have
noise. But I believe we need periods of
quiet to enable us to focus. Psalm 46:10
says, “Be still and know that I am God.”
The noise can distract us from an awareness of His presence. In a passage addressed to Israel, but also
applicable to us, Isaiah said in chapter thirty, verse fifteen, “Thus says the
Lord God. . .'In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.’”
When I am stressed and overwhelmed, I need to quiet to
refocus and calm myself to help me regain strength, to help me turn my life
back over to Him. John Greenleaf
Whittier said in his poem Dear Lord and
Father of Mankind,
Drop
Thy still dews of quietness,
Till
all our strivings cease.
Take
from our souls the strain and stress
And
let our ordered lives confess
The
beauty of Thy peace.
Oh, Lord, give us quietness and peace!
~~Faith Himes Lamb
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