Striving for Stillness

Every morning the alarm goes off. It's so dark outside and so warm under the covers. That noise. It breaks the silence and it's so unwelcome. I hit the snooze knowing it's only a matter of time {7  minutes to be exact} before that noise sounds off again. It's time to get up and start another day full of noise and distraction. I yearn for a little more time of quiet, but force myself to get up and get started with my day. The children are awakened and dragged out of bed and it begins. Breakfast, the morning routine, packing lunches and backpacks. Hugs and kisses as they rush out the door. It's my time now. My quiet, peaceful 10-20 minutes before the youngest wakes up. I find my place on the couch, cover with my favorite blanket and open my Bible. It's a time I have come to desire and desperately need before I really get busy with daily routine. I've been studying a 90 day Bible study about Jesus, the One and Only by Beth Moore. I'm not quite halfway through yet and already I know Him more and see Him from a different perspective than I did just a few weeks ago. Today was about knowing the enemy. That old serpent, the Devil. Beth points out that among so many characteristics of Satan, there is one that stands out. He loves to distract. Yes, he's sneaky and deceitful, he's the father of lies, but he also distracts us. He loves to show up when Truth is being proclaimed and distract us from really getting it, hearing it. I see this a lot in church. Just a couple weeks ago, I was sitting in the service and could not pay attention one little bit. Children and adults getting up to go to the bathroom, a mom fully focused on her child - getting him a juice cup, giving him snacks, things to do to keep him entertained - getting up herself a few different times for whatever reason. Sometimes I get distracted by my thoughts - what I need to do that day/week, burdens I have on my heart, the what-ifs. I try to pray on my way to church and sometimes even at the beginning of the service that God would eliminate the distractions and truly speak to my heart. I need Him. I need His Word to penetrate the stubborn places of my heart, to point out sin, to show me my great need of Him. I need that every day. But the distractions show up. Without fail. The phone rings, a text comes, the laundry buzzer goes off, the to-do list reminds me it's getting longer. I get distracted. I lose sight of the goal. To know Him. To walk with Him. Every minute, every second. I am working on teaching my 4 year old to sit still and pay attention. And as I sat with her in the Sunday morning service last week, it dawned on me that I have a lot of work to do with her. She isn't trained in sitting still. Her life has been full of entertainment, action, playing, pretending. All of those are great, but not when they keep her from being still when she needs to be. Then I realized how much I am like her. It's hard to be still. I'm 36 and it's hard for me to be still yet, the Bible commands us to be still and know that He is God. {Psalm 46:10} In the quiet, still room I sit and think of Who God is to me. His innumerable characteristics and how each one applies to me. Because they all do apply. He is a very personal God and friend. Do you know Him? Really know Him?