Silence, Serenity, and Solitude - My Friday Find

Vacation is to be stress free...but (at least for me)...in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia where the leaves are on fire...there is a tension.  It is wanting to explore and travel to see and capture everything...but also realizing that part of my renewal comes from taking time to be silent and reflective and still.  I found that today...

There are two Adirondack chairs sitting outside on the property of our two-week home...calling my name.

They sit along a small creek that sings as it flows by.  I turned off the news...filled my tote with my Bible, journal, and a book...along with my camera.  I would not wander today.  I would take advantage of the down time and seek that which my heart and being craves...and seems so elusive in my work-a-day world.

My devotional today was amazing...

When many things seem to be going wrong, trust Me.  When your life feels increasingly out of control, thank Me.  These are supernatural responses, and they can life you above your circumstances.  If you do what comes naturally in the face of difficulties, you may fall prey to negativism.  Even a few complaints can set you on a path that is a downward spiral, by darkening your perspective and mind-set.  With this attitude controlling you, complaints flow more and more readily from your mouth (and mind).  Each one moves you steadily down the slippery spiral.  The lower you go, the faster you slide; but it is still possible to apply the brakes.  Cry out to Me in My Name!  Affirm your trust in Me, regardless of how you feel.  Thank Me for everything, though this seems unnatural--even irrational.  Gradually you will begin to ascend, recovering your lost ground.  When you are back on ground level, you can face your circumstances from a humble perspective.  If you choose supernatural responses this time--trusting and thanking Me--you will experience My unfathomable Peace.

                                                                            from  Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

So I read some Bible verses and wrote some reflections in my journal.  Sometimes I forget how cathartic the physical act of writing is for me.  And I found silence and serenity in my solitude.  Then I noticed...

These leaves...one by one...occasionally...would drop on me from the tree above.  And I took photos of where they would land.

And it continued...even when I took out my book by Senator Jim Webb, Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Formed America.

One...like a butterfly...even landed on my hand.

And other things fell...

And some did not land on me or a book...

Treasures from heaven...both the leaves and the words I read...on one of the most calming, peaceful days I've had in some time.

Sometimes the FIND is worth the time it takes and the sacrifice of leaving other things behind.

Just Be

Early May...Spring clearly here...I walked out onto the deck and ventured to the pond on our vacation rental.  There had been much hard rain overnight and the water was somewhat of a murky brown.  There on the surface, I saw this green, solitary leave...dappled with waterdrops.  Just floating, just being.

How do I just "be"...be still...be a presence...be enough?  So many times my mind is racing so fast and I am caught up in endless activity...and when I am trying to have downtime, I still feel the need to be "doing" something.  How much do I miss because I don't stop?  What lessons do I not learn because I'm occupied?  And how many times do I do fumble the ball and cause damage trying to fix something by inadvertentlyy saying something stupid, rather than just be a presence for someone who is going through a difficult time?

My camera slows me down.  Writing slows me down.  But often, especially in my work world, I am more of a Martha vs. a Mary person.  And even if my body isn't flying around...my thoughts are.  And I know I am not alone.  Even in the quiet, I'm thinking about a to do list or on the weekend thinking about what I need to do on Monday.  My thoughts ruminate and I get stuck.  And then I wonder, "Where is God?"  In essence, wondering why I do not feel close to him.  A perfect passage explains it in I Kings 19 how often God comes in a whisper that we cannot hear because we do not stop to listen...not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

I've come to believe that living fully in the present is a spiritual discipline.  It is my responsibility.  C. S. Lewis  paraphrases in the movie,  Shadowlands, about a painting he had in his nursery:  "We live in the shadowlands. Sun is always shining somewhere else... around a bend in the road... over the brow of a hill."  Eluding to how we are always wanting to be somewhere else other than where we are.  And yet, as a Christian, we are to be as children, just delighting in NOW.  Later in the movie, C. S. Lewis comes across the actual place in the nursery painting and says to his new wife, Joy:

You know, I don't want to be somewhere else anymore.
I'm not waiting for anything new to happen...
not looking around the next corner and over the next hill.
I'm here now. That's enough.

- That's your kind of happy, isn't it? (Joy)

Yes. Yes, it is.

I want to live as God has made me to live...to delight in Him...I'm here now. That's enough.

With gratitude,