Get still

 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." (Matthew 6:33)

The more we 'strive' the less we 'rest'. The more we seek attention, the less we feel appreciated. The more we worry, the less peaceful we become. I guess the lesson here is that we reap as we sow - sow the good seed and reap the good harvest; sow the 'so-so' seed and the harvest will be less than stellar. As I drove through the countryside a few weeks back, I was taken aback by the many wildflowers filling our desert floor once again. Why did this amaze me? It was the dead of summer and hotter than Hades out there! The over-abundance of summer rains had turned the desert floor into a thing of beauty once again. Do you know what happens when the wildflowers start to bloom in the desert? The butterflies come out! As beautiful as it was to see all the desert in bloom, the gentle flitting of those many colored butterflies made it even more beautiful. To just take in the beauty was a great 'rest' to my soul - God-prepared wonders, delightful in every way.

More often than not, we get caught up in the 'hurry, hurry, hurry' of life and forget how much God is working to prepare the things of beauty that will pass us by unnoticed if we are not careful. We worry about the silliest things and wonder why we lack peace that allows us to enjoy a deep night's sleep. We 'go, go, go' until the wheels are about to fall off and wonder why we never 'get ahead'. Maybe it is time for us to sit back a bit and just be still. I will be the first to admit there is a great deal of 'things that need to be done' that come to mind every time I attempt to just 'be still'. I will also admit that I have to purposefully make my life 'still' from time to time to achieve this listening and attentive spirit God desires me to have. How about you? Have you been missing the butterflies because your world has been too hectic and the chaos has kept you from even noticing there is life all around? It isn't too late to just be 'still' in the presence of God - but you will have to stop if you are to ever notice!

All our striving puts us front and center - all that stillness puts HIM front and center. We move from the attitude of having to 'get', to understanding there is someone all around us just waiting for us to be in the frame where he can finally 'give' what we so desperately need. We don't 'get' as much as he 'gives', but if we bring our lives to a place of stillness on a regular basis, we are likely to understand the Giver as much as we appreciate the gifts he gives. Just sayin!