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Ever look at a stranger and see a mirror of yourself in some way? Today, while running into a small market to pick up a couple items needed for dinner, it happened. She was a checker and hadn’t noticed me enter her check-out station. I watched as she proceeded to the nearby front entry to wash the smudges off its’ glass door. So while I patiently waited for her return, I could identify with her ambitious busyness. 

“Sorry,” she said, realizing I was waiting there. “I just have to keep busy.”

“No worries, I can identify.” I understood.

As a busy person myself, I often have a hard time standing still for long. Even while on vacation, there are many times when I find myself filling-in the void of every quiet moment with activity. Perhaps that’s why I’m drawn to calm waters and peaceful surroundings. Maybe it’s also the reason I often choose quiet water scenes as the subjects of my paintings— I need to be still. That kind of beauty draws me in and gives my soul comfort and serenity. But more than that, it is God’s call to my spirit to “be still and know that I am God,” as it says in Psalm 46:10.  

Now, as I gaze out the large windows of our vacation place, my eyes are drawn to the view of the harbor. The little boats sit with quiet submission to the calm water of the inlet as it brings colorful reflections below each one. Although they may bob and sway slightly, their anchors force them to mostly remain still. H-m-m-m! Guess I need to anchor myself to God more often and let Him hold me motionless too. To allow His light to become beautiful reflections of His hand in my life.  

Looking closer at Psalm 46 by examining the two verses before verse ten, I see that the psalmist was considering the wars and chaos of the world when he wrote this psalm. Yet he steps back and draws the curtain away from the turmoil of his day with revelation of God’s mighty power to bring peace. Then he challenges us to do the same, saying: “Come see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.”  

He completes it with, “Be still and know that I am God,” and reminds us that God will be exalted among the nations and in the earth. He reinforces our need to be still and anchored to God no matter what is going on, because God is with us and is “The Lord God Almighty.” 

So, as I vacation in this peaceful place, I am reminded that I need to be still so I can be refreshed and strengthened by God’s mighty hand. That, if I stop long enough to ponder who God is and rest in His promises, I will be unmoved by the distractions around me, no matter how horrific.

#calm #stillwaters #chaos #anchor #serenity #paintings #vacation #busyness #God #Mightyhand

#Peaceful #Bestill #reflections #Hislight