“Be still, and know that I am God!
Psalm 46:10 (New Revised Standard Version)
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.”
Dear Lord:
I am trying to be still! In fact, I do not think I have gotten up from the chair in which I do my zoom calls in about six months! My body is beginning to show the results of that sad experiment in too much zoom and comfort cooking. Please send help – none of us know exactly what to do with a pandemic, racial justice issues rampant, an election that threatens to break up friends and families and churches, and so much grief and anxiety.
But f I am still, I can remember you are our God, and you are exalted among nations. For this I am grateful. In this, I have hope. I remember, some days, that I am a beloved child of yours and that I can see your fingerprints on the good, the hopeful, the merciful, the just. If I am still. If I know you are God, and I am not.
Thank you for the reminder Lord!
With all my love,
Sarah
This is my letter of complaint and love to God this week. After a week at the beach I am back at work, and a little bit grumbly about it. I quite enjoyed the stillness and quiet that included few if any emails, phone calls and texts and absolutely NO zoom calls. Sabbath time has made me grateful, and reminds me that I can actually be still any time I want. Even in the midst of a zoom call! A few deep breaths here and there to remind me to be present and still. An extra few minutes in the morning before I turn on the news or check my emails. A few minutes at night after I shut down the noise of the world. It is there! And the more I tap into it, the more I am strengthened, the less I am anxious, and the greater my ability to find a bit of peace.
So don’t be afraid in this time of challenge to rework your spiritual disciplines, to rage at God when needed, and embrace God when you can. To say, as one author so aptly noted, the three key prayers of “Help, Thanks, & Wow”. In the struggle and the stillness of the pain, we are formed further than we ever imagined as a Christian.
Sarah