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I was in the bathroom this morning trying to get ready to leave for bible study, when you live on a farm there is always something to feed on top of the humans that inhabit my home, and getting out of the house with time to spare in the morning is part regiment part chaos. Right now, we have bottle baby goats, plus oodles of pregnant ewe sheep, horses, goats, pigs, horses, chickens, and a llama. Phew, I’m exhausted already.
So, I was in the bathroom getting ready after feeding, and periodically peering out the door to check on my children’s progress getting ready and occasionally shouting dictates in their direction, “get your underwear on” and “brush your teeth” and so forth which I’m sure is resonating with many mothers. I was thinking as I got ready in a rush about how much time I had left before we needed to get loaded in the car and the stop I needed to make before bible study to get snacks when I heard in my heart, “Be still and know that I am God.” You know the verse, it is a verse found on countless memes, knickknacks and adorning a quarter the artwork for sale in Hobby Lobby.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalms 46:10 NIV
And then I had this little parody play out in my mind; it went something like this. “Someone” acknowledging this verse, this literal word from God while fluttering around the house with too many things on their mind. Got it God, look at me being still while yelling commands at my children, loading the dishwasher, and hopping on one leg while I trying to get pants on. Check, be still, nailed it!
Guilty as charged. Forgive me, Jesus.
Wait does that mean that I cannot be still and recognize the presence of the Lord in the busyness of the day? You absolutely can have both! But you know as well as I do when you are untethered from your purpose as a child of God. When the tie is temporarily cut and although God is in your life, He is not sustaining your life in a peace-giving sort of way. You are no longer grounded or rooted and your intention for the day rules the moment. The good news is, we can recognize these moments and pull ourselves back into alignment with the will and the ever-present love of our Lord.
So, I pause as I watch the reel in my head of the busy person hopping on one leg while chanting “be still” and smile because I am her. I pause as I recognize the dictates to my children sounding less like loving guidance and more like the frantic mandates of a cult leader. If I just blew your image of me as a perfect parent, that’s great news because I’m not! Most of you that know me either through my writing or in person know I’m incredibly flawed, just doing my best and screwing things up ALL THE TIME.
Here is how I try to reconnect when I notice I have lost my way. I pause when I can feel the busyness of the day overwhelm me before it has even started, and I invite God into the moment. Lord, I need you, let me give this time to you, let me move with your purpose and purge my mind of the distractions of this life. Forgive me for the times I fail and thank you for your patience as I struggle and grow. Let the breath that enters my lungs remind me of you. In all I do, let me serve you.
Check-in, are you untethered? If you are, give yourself grace and space, take a breath and invite Jesus into the moment. Let Jesus love you; he doesn’t care about messy bathrooms or messy lives; he just wants you. Pause, take this moment to thank God for sticky floors and piles of dishes, for undone laundry and broken plans. For in all the mess, in all the chaos of this world we are blessed with the ability to tether ourselves to the creator of Heaven and Earth. We are set apart by God himself our loving father and he deserves our thanks. Thank you, God, for loving a sinner like me. -Amen