Grace

Be Still.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.  Psalm 46:10-11 (NIV)

 

On Thanksgiving morning, the sweetest little baby boy was welcomed into this world by his adoring parents.  But this little turkey put his mother through the kind of labor that puts hormone-driven nightmares to shame.  All I could think was food.  As in, they need food, and my favorite go-to recipe, Egg Noodle Lasagna, was immediately on the menu.  Since my step-grandmother was also flying in this week, and the whole family was coming to my house to welcome her, I went ahead and quadrupled the batch.  Brilliant!  Food for 20.  Done.

I dropped it off on my friends’ front porch along with some wine and yummy dessert (Big mental checkmark added to my running list), then high-tailed it to pick up the kids from school and get home in time to meet my mom and grandmother before they arrived from the airport.  Like clockwork, it was all coming together.

UNTIL… It hit me, as if in slow-motion, I thought for the first time:  “I hope they like lasagna?  Of course, they do, everybody loves this recipe… Unless, you’re a VEGETARIAN or something.”

Ding, Ding, Ding.

Yes, yes, proud mom is, in fact, a vegetarian–and I knew that!  (queue fading checkmark)

Thinking on my feet, I called a local restaurant and ordered lentils and hummus, drove directly from the school, found parking at that bustling intersection, weaved through traffic to their house and back to mine, pulling into the garage not 10 seconds before my mom pulled in the driveway behind me.  Bring on 6 kids, a house full of adults and the official start of yet another crazy busy week.

Still.

Not a word many of us do well.  A word that sits on a shelf and sends reports back to the likes of Archangels, “Saying, yeah, they’re still missing this concept altogether.”  All the while, off we go, heads spinning and meltdowns spawning.

I was closer to the end of my rope this week than I’d realized.  By Thursday afternoon, I was so physically nauseous from it all that my knees literally hit the floor and the tears broke free from captivity.  “Father, where’s your peace?  I need peace.  How do I get to The Still?”

Alone and out loud, I talked to God about the personal things I’ve trained myself to keep tucked away from those around me.  The things that can explosively surface at unexpected moments.  For a good while, I stayed there in the middle of our landing and pleaded direction.  I want to “Be Still and just KNOW that YOU are GOD.  That You are in control.  I want the kind of peace that brings regenerative rest and ignites a new flame to hit this pavement hard again.

Right there a song slowly and quietly started playing in my spirit. It crept up my through my soul until it found my voice and I worshiped through my desperation.

Here now
All I know is I know that You are
Here now
Still my heart
Let Your voice be all I hear now…

When I felt myself begin to calm, I stood up from that spot and started life again.

It’s now just a few days later and today is Brenner’s 7th birthday.  A pottery painting party with nine 1st graders is no recipe for peace, and my family will walk through the front door any minute to join us for the rest of the weekend.  What you’re now reading came from stolen moments strung together in hopes it will amount to something more than I feel capable of producing right now.  But my soul keeps singing for me, “STILL my heart. Let your voice be all I hear now.

Because He is, in fact, HERE.

He came.  In the still of a silent night – hidden from Roman guards, born of a virgin, God made flesh.  A gift of peace.  Peace that cuts through the absolute insanity of over-committed lives.

How do we get to it?  Consider that the enemy jumps through hoops to keep you distracted, but peace is actually there for the taking.  In fact, the Bible says, The LORD will fight for you while you keep still.  Exodus 14:14

Reconnecting with the Father often feels like an expendable item on an insurmountable list of obligations.  How’s that working for you though?  Getting STILL for just a small moment is what redirects our focus, and the glorious part is that once we meet Him there, we don’t have to sit still to remain in Him…

Like Moses said to the Israelites: “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today.”  Exodus 14:13  I’m up for a rescue.  How about you?


For those who are not vegetarian, 😉  I gift you dinner:  Egg Noodle Lasagna

And for those who need a song to start The Still again, bask in this one:  Here Now – Hillsong Worship

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  • Candace December 14, 2015 at 1:53 pm

    <3

  • Erica December 15, 2015 at 9:49 am

    This song is now playing on repeat in my heart…thank you!