In The Quiet

Most mornings when I wake up I feel like the new day before me is some kind of present.
So many hours stretched out before me, yet to be lived. To be filled.

I even confess to feeling a little invinsible. That I can do it all.







 And by all I mean the mountain of dirty laundry sneering at me in the garage. The kitchen I left dirty the night before because we had friends over late and who wants to clean the kitchen when you have friends over (or worse yet after they leave). The banking, the errands. The unscheduled moments of play with my 2 year old. The phone calls to clients, the emails that need sending. The lunch date with my friend. The carpool.... (there's more, just thought you may be getting bored).

Oh yes, I'm sure I can do it all as my feet hit the floor and I hear the early morning song of the birds outside my window.

Sometimes I'm so filled with motivation (especially as I slurp down my second cup of coffee) that I will work my way right through the quiet time I meant to spend before my God.

I love the idea of 'tithing' the first part of my day.
My favorite person of all, the Holy Spirit, getting my firsts, not my leftovers.
Not a hapless prayer tossed up, sandwiched in between the 'important' things I'm doing.

This morning as I took advantage of the quiet house, sitting on the couch, bible and journal within reach, just loving God with my mind and telling Him how great He is, how thankful I am - a verse in Revelations came to mind. Chapter 8 opens with this profound statement: "All of heaven was quiet for about a half an hour."

All of Heaven.  Quiet.
All those angels, even the ones who are always crying 'Holy!'.  Quiet.

I think a little bit of silence everyday is actualy golden. And by that I mean valuable.
We want God to run along side us sometimes. Keep up with us.
Fill us while we compete in the rat race. But it doesn't work that way.

To really come to know him as God, we must first choose to Be Still. To be quiet.
At least for about a half an hour, like they do it in heaven.

The truth is, as invincible as I feel most mornings, I can't get it all done in a day.
Some things will be pushed to tomarrow. Some may never get completed (I speak of the laundry).

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

But He decideds what 'all' those things are. What's important, what's priority for this day.

And He's not going to tell me what they are as he jogs next to me in my busyness. 
He'll speak when I choose to stop, and really take time to listen.
Because He's God. And He deserves some silence. And He knows it.

May the blessings of being quiet for awhile IN His presence, intentionally,  be yours today.