There's nothing like encouraging feedback to make you even more excited about tackling and finishing a challenge. So as I continue on my pursuit of wonder, the challenge today was to sit in stillness for 20 minutes and allow God to speak and enjoy His presence.
I actually did this back in January when the challenge was first presented. Boy, was it HARD!!
No, it wasn't hard to sit still for 20 minutes. It was hard to be still for 20 minutes. It went something like this
breathe in. . . .breathe out. . .breathe in. . .God come meet with me. . .breathe out. . .breathe in. . .did I remember to write that e-mail? oh wait, I'm supposed to NOT be focusing on e-mail right now. . .breathe out. . .God, what do you have to say?. . .breathe in. . .oh, I have to remember to take yarn to school tomorrow. . .[stop to write this down so I definitely don't forget it] [see the stack of vocabulary quizzes in my bag waiting to be graded and remind myself that I definitely will grade them as soon as I'm finished]. . .now what was I doing again?. . .
Well, I'm sure you get the picture. And I'm sure you can relate.
The beautiful thing was that, on this occasion, I persisted in getting past distractions and determined that I would listen for God's voice. And He showed up. He brought to mind people to pray for, insights into what I had been personally learning and into situations that had been weighing heavily on my heart.
Since that time, I have looked for more ways to incorporate stillness into my times with Him. Times where I just sit, breathe and listen. I'll listen to the ticking of the clock or the hum of a fan until my brain has a chance to slow down and put aside the to-do list. Most times, I'll have a question in mind. Sometimes I get an answer. Sometimes I don't. Either way, I get up from that moment thankful for that time and looking forward to doing it again.
I actually did this back in January when the challenge was first presented. Boy, was it HARD!!
No, it wasn't hard to sit still for 20 minutes. It was hard to be still for 20 minutes. It went something like this
breathe in. . . .breathe out. . .breathe in. . .God come meet with me. . .breathe out. . .breathe in. . .did I remember to write that e-mail? oh wait, I'm supposed to NOT be focusing on e-mail right now. . .breathe out. . .God, what do you have to say?. . .breathe in. . .oh, I have to remember to take yarn to school tomorrow. . .[stop to write this down so I definitely don't forget it] [see the stack of vocabulary quizzes in my bag waiting to be graded and remind myself that I definitely will grade them as soon as I'm finished]. . .now what was I doing again?. . .
Well, I'm sure you get the picture. And I'm sure you can relate.
The beautiful thing was that, on this occasion, I persisted in getting past distractions and determined that I would listen for God's voice. And He showed up. He brought to mind people to pray for, insights into what I had been personally learning and into situations that had been weighing heavily on my heart.
Since that time, I have looked for more ways to incorporate stillness into my times with Him. Times where I just sit, breathe and listen. I'll listen to the ticking of the clock or the hum of a fan until my brain has a chance to slow down and put aside the to-do list. Most times, I'll have a question in mind. Sometimes I get an answer. Sometimes I don't. Either way, I get up from that moment thankful for that time and looking forward to doing it again.
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