“The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says, ‘Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength.'” (Isaiah 30:15)
Sounds like the two dwarfs who didn’t make the cut for the snow white movie. Drippy and drizzly, precisely how it was for several days. When you’re on vacation, rain’s the last thing you want. But you know what they say, can’t do much about the weather.
As I sat watching the clouds drip onto the water, making hypnotic little circles that merged into other circles, how the years melted away, and in my memory I was transported to an earlier time.
At a remote spot, at the end of a long dirt road, was the clearing with a pretty spring-fed lake. A sprinkling of cottages; one where my parents honeymooned, then later purchased. I spent summers there, as a child. Rustic hardly describes it. Today, I believe camping would be more sophisticated than life at our cottage was, back then. And it was the best time of my life. Well, one of the very best, for sure. Life was so simple. We enjoyed reading stories and books, did lots of puzzles. Outdoors there were limitless opportunities for creative play. And sunny afternoons, we could swim.
Every summer we would borrow a farm dog, and he’d be our friend for the months we were there. He, my sister, and I had many an adventure in the old rowboat, scouting bullfrogs on lily pads.
Today I am thankful for time to be still, like this. To just ‘be’, and not ‘do’. I am too often guilty of operating as a ‘human doing’ and not a ‘human being’.
God can really use our drippy, drizzly days, to quiet our minds, minister to our souls, and settle our spirits. That is good news.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10 NIV) “Get me out of here on dove wings; I want some peace and quiet. I want a walk in the country. I want a cabin in the woods. I’m desperate for a change from rage and stormy weather.” (Psalm 55: 6-8 MSG) “Stand in awe, and sin not: Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.” (Psalm 4:4 ASV) “Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul.” (Ps 131:2 NKJV)
Sally Ireland Kennedy