Restored in Stillness

The other day my daughter and I were leaving the athletic club. As we passed the outdoor pools, my daughter said, “Mom, look at the pools, they are perfectly still!” Sure enough the waters that were 30 minutes earlier busied with children diving, jumping, and splashing, were now perfectly still and quiet.  You could see the reflection of everything from above within the water; i.e., zip lines, rock wall, and the vastness of the sky. Quite the contrast!

Then this morning, my husband and I were sitting in our back sun porch drinking coffee and eating breakfast in the quiet with our dogs at our feet. We do this almost every Sunday morning before all of our girls wake up.  As I was journaling, Psalm 23 came to mind. The verse that kept going through my mind was “He leads me beside the still waters.” In my minds eye I was seeing a beautiful lake completely at peace and still with the vast sky reflecting from above.

The whole day this verse was spinning through my head, yet as the day went on, I was feeling more and more overwhelmed. There was housework to be done, packing for our anniversary trip, thinking about school registration–what are my girls going to wear for pictures, packing for the girls going to nana and papa’s, laundry, dog food needed to be picked up, getting my exercise in, taking a nap, more laundry, filling up the gas tank, taking my daughter to a birthday party and picking her up, I kept thinking–I’m so tired, and on and on.

By the time the end of the night had come, I sat at the piano to play and unwind, but I left the keys feeling frustrated. I went to take a shower and I just began to sob. As hot tears streamed down my face, I could hear the still quiet voice, “He leads me beside the still waters”, and then the next part of Psalm 23 came to mind, “He restores me soul.” I remembered the perfectly still pools that my daughter and I had seen a couple days before. “Okay God,” I said, “Are you trying to show me something? Alright, I’m paying attention.”

As I said those verses over and over again, I felt his peace.  He leads us to the still quiet places to bring restoration to our soul. As we rest in the stillness we begin to see the reflection of all His glory, and see the grandeur of who He is in our lives. Where the winds and storms of life may turn us inward, and feeling helpless, it is in the stillness of His presence that brings our focus back to Him. The storms and busyness may leave us frazzled and tattered, but found in the stillness He shows us a reflection; the reflection of our wholeness being restored.

Life may be full of busyness, but daily He calls to lead us to still waters. A place where we can be mindfully present to His presence. Be encouraged today to take a moment of stillness. Allow Him to lead you to that quiet; a place of restoration for your soul. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:1-3