This is Still, Still, Still sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter and would make lovely background music to reading this blog entry. So please do click play and enjoy it.
Be still and know that I am God (part of psalm 46:10) is one of my favorite passages. I am no expert but in my heart I always take it to mean this: I cannot always be strong. I cannot always do everything on my own. I will fall down. I will mess up. But all I really need to do is to be still. I can surrender, I can know that it’s okay to be weak sometimes, it’s okay to not shoulder every little thing, every little moment. I can just . . . be still. There are forces bigger than me at play that will hold me up, there is a God who is strong for me when I cannot be.
Christmas approaches. Quickly, so quickly. It is a hard time to be still. There are parties to attend, Barbie Dream Houses to put together, hot cocoa to drink, carols to sing. There are gifts to hide in various closets, meals to plan, old friends to see. There is an ethereally beautiful midnight Mass waiting for you if you can keep the kids up that late. There are friends and family to gather round and there are friends and family we’ve lost, a loss we feel even more acutely now, in this season.
If you can be still in this time, you can find peace.
My wish for you is peace. Peace in this world. Peace in your home. Peace in your beliefs, whatever they may be. Most of all, because all else springs from there, I wish you peace in your heart. I wish for a peace in your heart that is calm and listening so you don’t miss a moment of the joy and life that surrounds you. I wish for peace in your heart so that you find, amidst all the busy and chaos, amidst all the missteps and heartache that it seems we can never truly avoid, a way to be still. Be still and feel the love of your family and your friends and God and this beautiful earth that we all share.
So be still. Close your eyes, take a deep, clean breath, and feel the peace in your heart. It may take a few tries to find it, depending on what is surrounding you and the voices you hear when you close your eyes. But keep trying, you’ll find it. Cherish it. Think and act and speak from that place, at least for a little while, this Christmas season.
Peace! To each and every one of you. Love and Warmth and Peace.
Just beautiful. Thanks for the reminder.
Beautiful. Just the perfect message as I head out for my (hopefully) last bit of Christmas shopping. Merry Christmas to you and your lovely family!
Thank you…today, more than ever, I needed to be reminded of that. I don’t think it was a mistake I randomly came to your blog to take a peak! XOXO!
I think that everyone could be still more often if it wasn’t for twitter and texting. The best Christmas gift for a family would be – that all phones go into a box in the garage for two days.
Beautiful post! I am so glad to have found you and your blog this year. I hope you had a peaceful Christmas as well.