I have been pondering "stillness" and this scripture from Psalms this week. "Stillness" is not something that I am very good at. I must admit, the ability to be still does not compromise an abundant portion of my biological makeup. My parents are incredibly hard workers & taught me to have a strong work ethic from the time I was very small. That being said, neither of them are "still" very often, and I have inherited this tendency. When I saw Lacey & my dad sitting together at the cabin (see the picture below), I had to run & find my camera, because it is rare that I see my dad sitting & relaxing. It was a definite photo moment! We had some wonderful moments of stillness this past weekend while at my parents cabin as well as many moments of work (since there is much to be done at the cabin after a major remodel this past spring).
When I came home from the cabin, I thought about how it is nice to have those moments of stillness while I am there, when the normal, everyday pressures of life are absent. Then this scripture in Psalms came to my mind. I thought about how important it is to be still & how I need to be better at being still, and how I need to teach my children to be better at "stillness" as well. What is more important than knowing God? - and this scripture tells me, LaRae, to know who I am, YOU need to be STILL. You need to put aside the hurried & crazy hours of your busy life & be STILL. I equate stillness with peace. We all have a need to find peace within ourselves, even though life is often far from peaceful. As I have been pondering stillness & peace, I tried to assess when I am still. Lately, I have been relishing my morning walks, and I feel like that is a time of stillness for me. I may be walking up some tough hills & working my body, but my mind is still & calm & peaceful. It is one of the few times during the day that I can truly be alone with my thoughts & ponder things - like being STILL. I also decided that when I am doing laundry or dishes I am still. Even though I am working, laundry & dishes are mindless work for me & I can sit (or stand) and think and ponder while doing these tasks. (Of course, this is only the case if I am alone & not getting bombarded with multiple questions or requests.) Other than that, I probably need to work on finding some additional time to be STILL.
Here are a few moments of stillness from our memorial weekend at the cabin -
For being a busy one-year-old, Ben knows how to be still. Here he is standing on the front deck of the cabin watching for his dad & sisters to drive by on the four-wheeler. Ben is a patient & peaceful child, though he certainly has his moments, as all one-year-olds do. Just the other day Brad commented about how he likes to be with Ben because he feels peace radiating from Ben. Ben is truly a gentle soul who brings peace to our home.
9 comments:
I loved this post, especially seeing the pictures of your loved ones through the lens of stillness. Sometimes when I am working on something that is not in my nature I keep a journal of my progress. Since I've mastered everything else (not!) I think my new attribute will be "stillness."
I like your scriptural theme - "Be still and know that I am God." You know how sometimes you're searching for something, you know a change is coming, but you don't know quite what it is yet? As soon as I read that scripture I knew that's what I was looking for. So thank you.
Thank you for this post. I need to appreciate more the moments I am forced to be still with my baby Kate.
I love that you captured still moments. Very sweet pictures.
this was a beautiful post. I have always loved that scriptural quote. I have a little postcard on my desk at work that says, "Be still and know." I love it as it reminds me, without everyone in the office knowing what it means, that in my work with people, I must depend on the whisperings of the Spirit to help me "know" what Father wishes for me to do. I do love to be still. I am a pretty quiet person by nature now and love to listen and watch people. I loved that you had the opportunity to view stillness in a new way and in a very personal way. I love that Ben is a quiet soul - that really is a beautiful thing for you and wonderful for his family.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts
great photos and topic. you are an excellent writer girl--who knew you could not only do numbers well but write well too! that is a girl using both 1/2s of the brain! that is not still! hehe.
I can't believe you got a picture of Dad being still. That is pretty amazing! Great post. I am going to find more stillness in my life. I am glad the cabin was fun, wish we could have been there. I
Your pictures are great LaRae. I wish I had an easier time being still as well. I know that I need to take time to contemplate things more...a really bad thing that I don't. We did have such a great time at the cabin. I am glad that we all got to go...and sure look forward to the next time.
As usual, I loved your post. I remember when Amy was a preschooler at dance class, I went to pick her up one day. I said, "Come on, Amy. Let's get going. We're in a hurry." She looked up at me with her sweet innocent face and said, "Mommy, you're ALWAYS in a hurry." That was my notice to slow down and smell the roses. I'm still working on the "stillness" and calm...
This is a wonderful post. Your words cause me to be still; to ponder and decide. Beautiful pictures of your family...love the one of the kids throwing rocks into the stream. It's great to see a photo of your Dad. He and your mom were always so kind to me; which I am very grateful for!
ben truly is a peaceful soul. perhaps his spirit is an old and wise one..... he is here to teach us all a thing or two. isn't he a total cutie too? i love that boy!!!! :) mam
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